207 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT. 


DEDICATION 


SULLIVAN    MONUMENT 


DURHAM,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE 


THURSDAY,  SEPTEMBER  27,  1894 


Published  by  Authority  of  the  State 


CONCORD 

EDWARD   N.    PEARSON,    PUBLIC   PRINTER 
I  896 


7-55/7 


PBINTED   BY 

REPUBLICAN   PRESS   ASSOCIATION 
CONCORD,  N.  H. 


;u>7 


CONTENTS, 


INTRODUCTION  : 

EZRA  S.  STEARNS,  A.  M 5 

ADDRESSES  : 

REV.  CHARLES  S.  MURKLAND,  PH.  D.  10 

LUCIEN  THOMPSON,  ESQ. 12 

GOVERNOR  JOHN  B.  SMITH         .                 ...  15 

POEM  : 

MR.  HENRY  O'MEARA 18 

ORATION  : 

REV.  ALONZO  H.  QUINT,  D.  D 20 

MASONIC  CEREMONIES 62 

ADDRESSES  : 

AMOS  HADLEY,  PH.  D 70 

SENATOR  WILLIAM  E.  CHANDLER  .                          .        .  76 

EX-SENATOR  HENRY  W.  BLAIR          ....  79 

HON.  HENRY  M.  BAKER        .        .                 ...  84 

Ex-Gov.  FREDERICK  SMYTH 87 

HON.  JOHN  C.  LINEHAN         .         .                 ...  89 

PATRICK  H.  SULLIVAN,  ESQ.       .                 ...  96 

COL.  DANIEL  HALL       .                          .                 .  103 


JOHN  SULLIVAN. 


Like  a  monument  reared  upon  a  sure  foundation, 
the  American  Republic  rests  securely  upon  the 
works  and  creation  of  the  brilliant  soldiers  and 
sagacious  statesmen  of  the  Revolution.  The  story 
of  their  lives  is  eternal.  Literature,  poesy,  and 
sculpture,  expressing  the  deeper  feelings  of  the 
people,  are  forever  engaged  in  earnest  rivalry  in 
inscribing  the  living  sentiment  of  succeeding 
generations. 

The  founders  of  the  state  of  New  Hampshire 
were  conspicuous  men  of  eventful  times.  Sullivan 
and  Langdon,  "Weare  and  Bartlett,  Thornton  and 
Whipple,  Cilley  and  Stark,  Dearborn  and  Scam- 
mell,  Thompson  and  Folsom,  James  Reed  and 
George  Reid,  Livermore  and  Peabody,  Hale  and 
Bellows,  the  Gilmans,  the  Wentworths,  and  the 
Hobarts,  were  men  of  resources,  and  bold  and 
sagacious  leaders  in  the  field  and  in  the  halls  of 
legislation.  All  were  men  of  unsullied  character 
and  of  unusual  ability.  Of  these  worthies,  each 
was  a  patriot,  and  all  surrendered  their  energies  and 
their  fortunes  to  the  cause  of  their  country. 
Among  them,  disciplined  by  like  experience  and 
animated  by  a  common  impulse,  many  similitudes 
of  mind  and  habit  of  thought  are  easily  discernible. 


6  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

Among  them  all,  the  strong  contrasting  qualities 
were  those  of  Weare  and  Sullivan.  It  would  be 
difficult  in  any  age  to  find  two  men  in  the  same 
walks  of  life  of  greater  dissimilitude.  The  life- 
work  of  Weare  was  a  human  temple,  reared  by 
industry  and  cemented  by  the  superior  qualities  of 
his  judgment  and  discretion.  Sullivan,  bounding 
from  the  joys  of  youth  into  the  wisdom  and  sober- 
ness of  manhood,  was  swift  in  thought  and  bold  in 
execution.  Weare  was  prudent.  He  acted  at  all 
times  and  under  all  circumstances  with  rare  intelli- 
gence, because  he  clearly  discerned  and  correctly 
read  the  state  of  the  public  mind.  Sullivan  was 
impetuous.  He  gilded  the  realities  of  the  present 
with  the  golden  hopes  and  promises  of  the  future. 
Weare  was  understood  and  appreciated,  because  he 
walked  among  and  labored  with  the  people,  invit- 
ing them  into  the  inner  temple  of  his  thought,  and 
instructing  them  from  the  ripeness  of  his  experience 
and  the  fulness  of  his  wisdom.  Sullivan,  always  in 
advance  of  public  sentiment,  was  fond  of  moving, 
even  if  he  failed  to  convince  the  people,  and,  while 
the  cautious  were  grieving  over  a  disturbance,  Sul- 
livan was  rejoicing  in  war.  Weare  was  a  states- 
man of  tact  and  ability.  Sullivan  was  a  born  leader 
of  men.  Weare  conducted,  but  Sullivan  created, 
revolution,  and  each  was  equally  illustrious  in  his 
peculiar  sphere. 

To  Sullivan,  more  than  to  any  other  of  the  great 
and  illustrious  men  of  his  time,  is  ascribed  the  attri- 
bute of  genius.  He  found  delight  in  boldly  doing 
for  to-morrow  the  work  Weare  wisely  was  complet- 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  7 

ing  for  to-day.  Sullivan  preeminently  was  a  man 
for  revolutionary  times.  He  was  not  a  slave  to 
ancient  forms  and  customs.  Ruthlessly  trampling 
upon  the  traditions  of  his  time,  he  boldly  assaulted 
the  conservative  barriers  that  confined  the  people 
of  New  Hampshire  within  the  pale  of  accustomed 
usage.  He  early  declared  for  a  free  government 
for  a  free  people.  In  the  inarch  of  events,  when 
the  people  reached  his  early  standpoint,  the  consti- 
tution of  1776  was  drafted  on  the  line  of  his  sug- 
gestions, which  for  a  time  had  remained  unheeded. 
It  is  a  century  since  the  life  of  Sullivan  was 
ended,  and  the  qualities  of  his  character  and  the 
magnitude  of  his  work  were  submitted  to  the  gen- 
erous estimate  of  his  fellow-men.  His  fame  with 
the  lapse  of  time  suffers  no  impairment.  A  brilliant 
and  an  accomplished  civilian,  a  distinguished  lawyer, 
a  matchless  orator,  a  brave  and  an  able  general,  a 
senator,  a  magistrate,  and  a  governor,  he  bore  his 
accumulating  honors  with  modesty,  and  served  the 
state  which  he  loved  with  the  restless  power  of  a 
vigorous  and  versatile  mind.  The  study  of  his  life 
is  instructive.  Through  the  vista,  obscured  by  a 
century,  we  read  the  story  of  his  time  in  the  light 
of  the  undimmed  lustre  of  his  achievements. 


Many  years  ago,  in  a  small  cemetery  not  far  from 
the  common  of  Durham,  was  erected  a  plain,  unos- 
tentatious headstone.  It  bears  a  name,  and  the  date 
of  birth  and  of  death.  The  limit  of  the  life  of  him 
who  sleeps  in  this  secluded  yard  was  fifty-five  years. 


8  DEDICATION  OF   THE 

The  name  of  Major-General  John  Sullivan  is  rudely 
carved  upon  the  face  of  this  simple  tablet ;  it  is 
more  boldly  engraven  in  the  memorials  of  his  time 
and  the  enduring  annals  of  the  state. 

The  suggestion  that  the  good  works  of  John 
Sullivan  demanded  a  more  conspicuous  monument 
was  so  freely  admitted,  that  the  proposition  failed  to 
elicit  the  intelligence  of  debate  or  the  accelerated 
force  that  springs  from  opposition.  A  sentiment 
that  was  universal  first  found  definite  expression  in 
the  halls  of  legislation.  The  act  of  1893  made  pro- 
vision for  a  suitable  monument,  and  referred  its 
execution  to  the  governor  and  council.  Immedi- 
ately the  affirmative  action  of  the  legislature  was 
supplemented  by  an  efficient  cooperation  on  the 
part  of  the  citizens  of  Durham.  A  town  commit- 
tee, consisting  of  Jeremiah  Langley,  James  W. 
Burnham,  and  Lucien  Thompson,  had  frequent 
conference  with  Governor  John  B.  Smith  and  the 
council,  and  all  the  formulated  plans  were  promptly 
executed. 

The  location  of  the  monument  was  a  happy  sug- 
gestion of  the  committee  of  Durham,  which  was 
promptly  approved  by  the  governor  and  council. 
The  surroundings  were  graded  and  the  lot  pre- 
pared by  the  town.  The  site  is  historic.  Here  stood 
the  first  and  the  second  meeting-houses  of  Durham. 
Here  ascended  the  prayer  and  the  praise  of  five 
generations.  And  now,  dedicated  to  the  memory  of 
Sullivan,  the  offering  of  the  present  is  hallowed  by 
the  incense  of  the  worship  of  the  fathers. 

The  first  meeting-house  of  Durham  was  erected 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  9 

about  1715.  A  new  edifice  succeeded  on  the  same 
site  in  1792,  which  remained  until  1848,  when  the 
third  meeting-house  was  located  upon  the  north 
side  of  the  river.  The  site  of  the  first  and  second 
meeting-houses  became  a  part  of  the  common  and 
fallow  ground,  until  its  fallen  dignity  was  revived  in 
the  location  of  the  Sullivan  monument.  The  pas- 
tors of  the  church  in  Durham  in  the  eighteenth 
century  were  Reverends  Hugh  Adams,  Nicholas 
Gilman,  John  Adams,  and  Curtis  Coe. 

The  monument  was  modelled  from  designs  sub- 
mitted by  the  New  England  Granite  Works,  to 
which  was  awarded  the  contract  for  its  construc- 
tion. It  is  of  Concord  granite,  of  fair  proportions 
as  represented  in  the  engraving,  and  its  height  is 
thirteen  and  one  half  feet.  It  is  inscribed  as 
follows : 

IN  MEMORY  OP 

JOHN    SULLIVAN 

BORN  FEBRUARY  17,  1740 
DIED  JANUARY  23,  1795 
Erected  by  the  state  of  New  Hampshire 

upon  the  site  of  the  Meeting  House 

under  which  was  stored  the  gunpowder 

taken  from  Fort  William  and  Mary. 

The  memorial  was  dedicated  with  appropriate 
exercises  Thursday,  September  27,  1894.  The 
guests  of  the  occasion,  alighting  from  the  early 
trains,  found  free  carriages  and  a  cordial  welcome 
from  the  people  of  Durham. 


10  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

A  mammoth  tent  with  a  spacious  platform  and  a 
convenient  arrangement  of  seats  was  erected  upon 
the  common,  which  afforded  ample  accommodation 
for  the  assembled  audience.  At  the  noon  hour  a 
generous  collation  was  provided  under  the  general 
direction  of  the  members  of  Scammell  grange,  Pa- 
trons of  Husbandry,  and  throughout  the  day  the 
efficient  town  committee,  ably  assisted  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Durham,  surrounded  their  numerous  guests 
with  unfailing  courtesy  and  attention. 

At  the  invitation  of  Governor  Smith,  Rev. 
George  E.  Hall,  D.  D.,  of  Dover,  officiated  as  chap- 
lain, and  Rev.  Charles  S.  Murkland,  Ph.  D.,  presi- 
dent of  the  New  Hampshire  College  of  Agricul- 
ture, presided  on  the  occasion.  Mr.  Murkland  ably 
conducted  the  exercises,  introducing  the  several 
speakers  with  crisp,  impromptu  speeches,  which, 
if  transcribed,  would  have  added  interest  and  sub- 
stance to  the  narrative  of  the  proceedings. 

PRESIDENT   MURKLAISTD'S   ADDRESS. 

There  is  a  certain  solemnity  in  the  purpose  for 
which  we  are  assembled.  For  that  is  a  solemn  mo- 
ment when  we  are  face  to  face  with  the  earnest- 
ness, the  sacrifice,  the  devotion  and  the  power  of  a 
heroic  soul;  when  we  contemplate  an  individual, 
by  virtue  of  these  qualities,  dignifying  his  sur- 
roundings and  making  succeeding  generations  his 
debtor.  This  may  never  become  a  large  commu- 
nity, but  it  will  always  be  exalted  by  its  associa- 
tion with  John  Sullivan,  lawyer,  soldier,  statesman, 
and  judge.  The  plain,  granite  shaft,  inadequate 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  11 

as  it  may  appear,  will  yet  serve,  when  we  shall 
have  been  forgotten,  to  recall  the  like  of  one  who 
served  his  country  so  bravely  and  so  well  that  he 
made  slander  dumb,  and  malice  impotent.  The 
treasure-house  of  the  state  is  the  record  of  her 
sons;  in  their  exaltation  she  is  glorified.  And  in 
those  records,  no  name  stands  out  in  clearer  relief 
than  that  which  is  inserted  upon  this  monument. 
Of  the  variety  and  extent  of  his  services,  of  the 
noble  qualities  which  he  displayed,  of  the  trials  he 
endured,  we  may  partly  learn  from  a  significant 
deed,  or  a  characteristic  letter,  or  some  expression 
of  his  fellows.  But  as  the  large  personality  is 
always  the  exponent  of  that  which  is  in  its  own 
time  at  once  effect  and  cause  of  its  surroundings, 
the  man  himself  must  be  found  in  the  vast  con- 
trasts of  that  sublime  moment  of  American  his- 
tory. There  were  small  factors  facing  large 
issues;  a  little  army  defending  an  eternal  prin- 
ciple; a  hungry,  ragged  soldiery  laying  the  foun- 
dations for  such  national  prosperity;  a  few  eminent 
men  determining  destiny  for  untold  millions.  A 
true  exponent  of  such  times  was  he  whose  monu- 
ment we  dedicate  to-day.  And  we  cannot  forget 
or  ignore  the  memorials,  more  fitting  than  this, 
more  lasting  than  the  sculptured  stone,  by  which, 
under  the  divine  law  of  consequences,  the  lives  of 
the  great  and  true  are  held  in  loving  remembrance. 
This  nation,  in  all  its  greatness;  every  increment 
to  its  power;  every  principle  for  which  it  stands; 
opportunity  in  which  it  may  advance  the  cause  of 
humanity; — these  are  monuments  to  him  and  to 


12  DEDICATION   OF  THE 

those  who,  with  him,  lived  and  labored.  And  this 
granite  is  more  than  a  block  from  the  quarry,  by 
so  much  as  it  suggests  of  the  things  visible  and 
things  invisible  in  which  the  memory  of  John 
Sullivan  is  perpetuated.  Men  die;  responsibilities 
are  constant.  The  inheritance  is  ours  for  a  little 
while,  and  will  then  be  our  children's.  This  occa- 
sion, bringing  high  honor  to  this  community  by  the 
presence  of  so  many  distinguished  guests,  and 
reflecting  such  credit  upon  the  state  and  upon  its 
executive,  will  have  served  its  purpose  if  it  recall 
us  for  the  time  to  the  contemplation  of  the  nobler 
national  spirit,  and  prepare  us  for  our  part  in  the 
divine  succession  of  human  privilege. 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  address,  the  president 
introduced  Lucien  Thompson,  representing  the 
citizens  of  Durham. 

SPEECH   OF   LUCIEN   THOMPSON,   ESQ. 

ME.  PRESIDENT: — A  joint  resolution  in  relation 
to  the  erection  of  a  monument  in  honor  of  John 
Sullivan  was  introduced  in  the  state  legislature  of 
1893  by  Representative  Peter  Laughlin  of  Dover, 
was  passed  and  approved  by  the  governor,  March 
31, 1893. 

JOINT  RESOLUTION  in  relation  to  the  erection  of  a  monu- 
ment in  honor  of  John  Sullivan, 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  Gen- 
eral Court  convened : 
That  a  sum,  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars,    be    and 

is  hereby  appropriated  for  procuring  and  erecting  in  the  town 

of  Durham  a  suitable  granite  monument  at  the  grave  of  John 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  13 

Sullivan,  patriot,  soldier,  lawyer,  and  statesman,  provided  said 
town  prepare  and  furnish  grounds  and  foundation  upon  which 
to  erect  such  monument.  And  the  further  sum  of  two  hundred 
dollars  is  hereby  appropriated  for  suitable  ceremonies,  when 
completed  and  accepted. 

That  the  governor  and  council  are  authorized  to  procure  such 
a  monument  as  they  may  think  a  credit  to  the  state,  and  direct 
the  construction  and  erection ;  and  the  governor  is  hereby 
authorized  to  draw  his  warrant  for  the  sum  raised  out  of  any 
money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

Approved,  March  31,  1893. 

The  resolution  being  dependent  upon  the  action 
of  the  town  of  Durham,  a  special  meeting  of  its 
citizens  was  called  in  June,  1893. 

Jeremiah  Langley,  James  "W.  Burnham,  and 
Lucien  Thompson  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
secure  a  suitable  spot  for  the  location  of  the  monu- 
ment, and  prepare  the  ground  and  foundation  upon 
which  to  erect  it. 

The  town  committee,  after  careful  consideration, 
unanimously  decided  upon  the  old  meeting-house 
site,  an  ancient  landmark,  full  of  historical  interest 
to  all  citizens  of  our  old  Granite  State,  and  one  that 
should  thus  be  forever  commemorated  to  future 
generations  as  the  site  of  the  meeting-house  and 
the  spot  where  the  gunpowder  was  stored  after  it 
was  taken  from  Fort  William  and  Mary,  under  the 
gallant  leadership  of  Major  Sullivan.  It  is  near  the 
homestead  he  loved  and  guarded  so  well,  and  over- 
looks the  village  and  river. 

The  selection  of  this  site  was  approved  by  the 
committee  of  the  council  and  by  the  citizens  of 
Durham,  and  an  accurate  survey  was  made  by 


14  DEDICATION   OP   THE 

Prof.  Charles  H.  Pettee,  estimates  made  of  the 
work  required,  and  probable  cost  of  the  same. 

At  the  annual  town  meeting,  March  13,  1894,  it 
was  voted  to  set  apart  the  land  owned  by  the  town 
and  known  as  the  town  landing  and  old  meeting- 
house site,  lying  on  the  southerly  side  of  the  highway 
leading  from  Durham  Falls  to  Newmarket,  as  the 
location  for  a  monument  to  be  erected  by  the  state 
of  New  Hampshire  in  memory  of  General  John 
Sullivan. 

It  was  also  voted  to  raise  and  appropriate  a  sum 
not  exceeding  five  hundred  dollars  for  laying  the 
foundation,  grading  the  lot,  and  other  necessary 
purposes. 

The  selectmen  of  Durham  were  authorized  to 
pay  over  to  the  committee  from  time  to  time  such 
sums  as  might  be  needed  for  the  same. 

The  foundation  was  laid  and  the  grading  done 
by  Messrs.  Daniel  and  Charles  P.  Chesley  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  town  committee. 

The  committee  of  the  council,  Hon.  F.  N.  Par- 
sons of  Franklin  and  Hon.  E.  O.  Blunt  of  Nashua, 
contracted  for  the  monument  and  its  erection  with 
the  New  England  Granite  "Works  of  Concord,  and 
the  terms  of  the  contract  being  promptly  complied 
with,  a  monument  of  New  Hampshire  granite  was 
soon  placed  in  position,  bearing  a  simple  inscrip- 
tion, but  meaning  much  to  every  citizen  of  New 
Hampshire.  A  visitor  in  Rome  once  asked,  "Where 
is  Cato's  monument  ? "  Cato  replied,  "  I  would 
rather  people  would  ask  where  is  Cato's  monument 
than  who  is  this  Cato  whose  monument  is  here?  " 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  15 

The  career  of  John  Sullivan  as  a  civil  and  mili- 
tary leader  during  our  struggle  for  independence 
should  ever  be  familiar  to  all  citizens  of  our  old 
state. 

In  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  Durham,  I  deliver  to 
your  Excellency  this  foundation  and  its  surround- 
ings, remembering  that  the  spot  itself  is  associated 
with  a  characteristic  act  in  the  life  of  John  Sullivan 
and  with  one  of  the  first  aggressive  movements  for 
American  independence. 

Hon.  Frank  N".  Parsons  of  Franklin,  represent- 
ing the  council,  was  the  next  speaker.  His  speech 
was  one  of  the  most  enjoyable  features  of  the  occa- 
sion, but,  unfortunately  for  the  readers  of  this 
memorial,  his  words  were  not  reduced  to  writing. 

The  state  was  represented  by  His  Excellency 
John  B.  Smith,  who  spoke  as  follows  : 

SPEECH   OF   GOVERNOR   SMITH. 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  We  meet 
to-day  upon  an  important  errand — to  dedicate  a 
monument  to  an  illustrious  soldier  and  patriot  of 
the  Revolution.  The  world  has  always  honored 
distinguished  service.  In  all  ages  men  have  been 
found  rising  above  their  fellows,  and  making  them- 
selves famous  by  the  force  of  genius  and  the  favor 
of  opportunity.  Every  land  has  had  its  heroes. 
Some  of  these  have  sacrificed  themselves  for  the 
public  good,  and  some,  alas!  have  sacrificed  the 
public  good  on  the  altar  of  their  own  selfish  ambi- 
tion. It  is  said  that  the  poet  is  born  and  not  made. 


16  DEDICATION   OF  THE 

Heroes  are  both  born  and  made.  Genius  and  great- 
ness need  opportunity.  John  Hampden  might  have 
remained  the  simple  u  Village  Hampden,"  and  Oli- 
ver Cromwell  a  quiet  country  gentleman,  but  for 
the  imposition  of  the  illegal  ship  money  tax,  and 
the  duplicity  and  weakness  of  a  bad  king,  who 
sought  to  trample  upon  the  ancient  constitution  of 
his  country  and  the  rights  of  the  people,  in  an  age 
when  those  rights  were  beginning  to  be  better 
understood,  and  when  "  resistance  to  tyrants  "  was 
coming  to  be  recognized  as  "  obedience  to  God." 
The  great  crises  that  come  in  the  life  of  nations  and 
peoples  are  opportunities,  and  men  of  genius  and 
great  qualities  seize  and  use  them,  sometimes  for 
their  own  advancement,  sometimes  for  mankind. 
Such  a  crisis  in  the  life  of  our  people,  and  in  the 
world's  life,  even,  was  the  American  Revolution  ; 
and  no  event  of  history  (excepting  the  late  unholy 
Rebellion)  has  been  so  fruitful  of  heroes  as  this. 
And  it  is  our  proud  boast  that  the  colony  of  New 
Hampshire  furnished  its  full  share  of  these  heroes. 
We  are  proud  of  Stark  and  Poor  and  Cilley,  of 
Langdon  and  Thornton  and  Bartlett,  and  a  goodly 
host  of  others.  But  it  is  no  invidious  distinction  to 
say  that  of  all  the  New  Hampshire  men  of  the 
Revolutionary  period,  Sullivan  was  not  only  peer, — 
he  was  preeminently  chief.  He  was  soldier,  states- 
man, lawyer,  and  governor,  all  in  one,  and  great 
in  each  and  all.  But  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  enter 
upon  any  extended  eulogy.  This  is  the  province  of 
others,  and  is  committed  to  able  and  worthy  hands. 
The  world's  appreciation  of  its  heroes  finds  expres- 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  17 

sion  in  monuments  of  enduring  materials,  which 
may  be  a  sign,  an  inspiration  and  education  to  com- 
ing generations.  We  this  day  dedicate  such  a 
monument  to  John  Sullivan.  Although  he  well 
deserves  it,  yet  in  a  sense,  a  large  sense,  he  does 
not  need  it.  His  fame  is  already  secure  ;  his  life  is 
a  part  of  the  country's  history.  We  who  build  it, 
need  it.  We  need  it  as  our  expression  of  gratitude 
to  him,  and  as  a  sign  of  our  own  loyalty  to  the 
great  principles  and  cause  to  which  he  devoted  his 
lifelong  service — a  life  short  in  years,  but  long, 
measured  by  results. 

"  That  life  is  long  which  answers  life's  great  end." 

This  monument  is  erected  by  the  state.  It  is 
made  of  our  own  ]STew  Hampshire  granite.  The 
town  of  Durham  has  generously  furnished  and  pre- 
pared the  grounds.  It  is  appropriately  erected 
upon  a  spot  associated  with  a  deed  of  daring  and 
bravery  of  which  this  bright  young  Irish  lawyer 
was  the  chief  actor.  The  affair  at  Fort  William 
and  Mary  was  one  of  the  initial  steps  of  the  war, 
and  on  this  ground  the  results  of  that  enterprise, 
the  captured  munitions,  were  stored  for  a  time. 
This  monument  is  well  fashioned,  chaste  in  design, 
and  appropriately  inscribed,  and  reflects  credit 
upon  the  committees  having  it  in  charge.  It  will 
ever  suggest  love  of  country,  love  of  liberty,  cour- 
age, and  sacrifice.  And  now,  by  virtue  of  my  office 
(an  office  I  am  all  the  more  proud  to  hold  because 
John  Sullivan  filled  and  honored  it),  I  accept  these 
grounds  from  the  town  of  Durham,  and  this  monu- 


18  DEDICATION   OF  THE 

ment  from  the  committee,  in  behalf  of  the  state.  It 
will  endure,  we  may  confidently  hope,  so  long  as 
time  shall  last.  It  will  need  no  special  protection: 
no  vandal  hand  will  ever  deface  it.  The  love  and 
veneration  of  all  mankind  for  its  great  subject  will 
be  its  best  guardian. 

The  poem  of  the  occasion  was   read  by  Henry 
O'Meara  of  the  Boston  Journal. 

MABTIAL  AND  CIVIC  CBOWNED. 

What  full-wrought  hero  vivid  yet  appears, 
Far-visioned  through  our  Nation's  vital  years, 
Whose  hand  upholds  the  weapon  freemen  draw — 
His  head  the  wreath  of  order  wrapped  in  law  ! 
Belit  in  Revolution's  primal  scene 
On  the  Fort  long  grasped  in  name  of  King  and  Queen. 

"Yield  in  the  people's  name  !"  his  swift  demand, 
As  daring  impulse  of  a  dauntless  band, 
These  moonlit  waves  reflect  a  marveled  sight, 
While  first  he  moves  to  breast  the  Briton's  might — 
Their  powder  lodges  'neath  the  pulpit  sill, 
Destined  to  preach  our  text  at  Bunker  Hill. 

From  Boston's  Heights  to  icy  Delaware 
With  Washington  he  stands  to  do  and  dare — 
From  Hudson  to  St.  Lawrence  his  campaigns; 
No  toil  or  terror's  realm  his  zeal  restrains. 

And  now  the  savage  hordes  his  deeds  demand, 

Needful,  though  cruel  calls,  his  arms  command — 

"Avenge  fair  Wyoming  !  "  each  white  man  cried — 

Her  echo  wails  o'er  Susquehanna's  side  ! 

Swiftly  his  warlike  genius  stirred  we  see 

In  beauteous  Valley  of  the  Genesee  ; 

His  bayonets  fringe  dark  forests  with  their  glow, 

His  cannon  cast  their  blight  on  all  below  ; 

In  woods  primeval  held  by  warbling  bird 

His  chant  of  march  and  battling  cheer  is  heard. 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  19 

All  !  sad  the  need,  but  gladdening  still  the  end 
Where  powers  of  progress  ranked  in  right  contend  : 
He  falls  upon  that  foe  with  havoc's  ire 
Whose  track  yet  reeks  with  treachery,  blood,  and  fire  ; 
He  fights  from  barbarous  hands  these  fields  to  wrest 
That  form  the  Empire  State's  rich  boundaries  west. 

Marvel  we  not  that  from  these  scenes  of  awe 
He  turns  to  greet  his  earlier  love,  the  Law, 
That  from  our  Nation's  chief  in  later  day 
He  holds  the  ermine  of  judicial  sway. 

But  spirit  militant  can  not  abate, 
He  tears  from  Anarchy  his  fostering  State  ; 
"Briton  and  Indian  long  I  dared,"  he  cries, 
"Your  threats  to  me  as  Governor  I  despise." 
He  lives  to  steer,  outsailing  civil  storm, 
The  Constitution  he  full  served  to  form. 

'Tis  fit  that  here  where  filial  days  were  passed, 
When  young  ambition,  hope's  career,  was  cast, 
Where  scenes  inspiring  filled  his  patriot  eyes, 
This  carved  memorial  of  his  fame  should  rise — 
Here  on  the  spot  where  captured  stores  were  hid 
That  spoke  the  desperate  stroke  of  arms  he  did — 
The  ammunition  prized  that  flashed  the  word 
When  earliest  flaming  of  a  Nation  stirred. 

Tried  in  the  crucible  of  war  and  woe, 

He  braved  a  sovereign's  force  and  savage  foe  ; 

When  gold  and  deeds  were  for  his  land  assayed 

Fortune  and  fortitude  on  her  he  laid, 

And  though  Detraction,  seeking  dross,  assailed, 

The  metal  of  his  Merit's  wealth  prevailed — 

Aspersion's  mist  may  shroud  the  mountain  base — 

But  loftier  still  he  shines  with  lifted  face. 

Above  the  symboled  life  raised  here  shall  stand 

His  statue  reared  in  records  of  the  land, 

In  powers  clear-wrought  for  struggling  people's  cause 

That  strove  alike  for  liberties  and  laws. 


20  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

Soldier  and  jurist,  with  two  missions  twined, 
Whose  claims  the  martial  and  the  civic  bind — 
In  whom  the  blood  of  nations  dual  blend — 
You  rose  in  peace  or  peril  to  defend, 
Fitly  equipped  for  errand  of  your  pride 
An  infant  Commonwealth  to  guard  and  guide! 

Your  deeds  for  all  the  land  that  holds  your  fame 
Shall  link  you  now  to  loved  New  Hampshire's  name, 
While  throbs  high  manhood  round  her  glistening  hills — 
While  patriot  gleam,  or  pristine  glory  thrills. 

In  a  felicitous  speech,  the  president  introduced 
Rev.  Alonzo  H.  Quint,  D.  D.,  who  had  been  invited 
to  deliver  the  principal  address  of  the  occasion. 

ADDRESS   OF   REV.   DR.    QUEST. 

In  the  month  of  June,  1777,  Peter  Livius,  a  roy- 
alist refugee,  then  chief  justice  of  Quebec,  but  who 
had  been  chief  justice  of  the  province  of  New 
Hampshire  under  the  king,  wrote  thus  to  John 
Sullivan  : — 

"  You  were  the  first  man  in  active  rebellion,  and 
drew  with  you  the  province  you  live  in.  You  will 
be  one  of  the  first  sacrifices  to  the  resentment  and 
justice  of  government.  Your  family  will  be  ruined, 
and  you  must  die  with  ignominy." 

To  the  man  thus  truthfully  designated  as  the  man 
who,  in  all  the  American  provinces,  was  the  first  to 
take  up  arms  against  the  king,  Hew  Hampshire 
now  erects  this  monument  of  native  granite.  It  is 
fitting  that  the  state  should  thus  commemorate  the 
service  of  men  who,  in  times  of  great  crises,  and 
especially  in  the  crises  of  national  life,  distinguished 
themselves  by  sagacious  foresight  and  heroic  deeds. 


SULLIVAN  MONTTMENT.  21 

It  is  well  that  there  should  be  monuments  which 
shall  inspire  young  men  with  love  of  country  and  the 
spirit  of  self-sacrifice.  It  is  particularly  fortunate 
that  the  construction  of  this  monument  should  not 
have  been  delayed  beyond  the  first  year  in  which 
the  State  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts 
should  have  been  established  in  this  place.  With 
the  erection  of  noble  buildings  for  the  living 
instructors,  the  state  erects  a  silent  instructor  of 
patriotism  for  its  young  men  and  women.  !N"or  is 
it  to  be  forgotten  that  the  munificent  gift  to  this 
college,  for  which  the  testator  had  carefully  invested 
his  accumulated  wealth,  was  made  by  a  grandson  of 
a  distinguished  civilian  who,  residing  here,  made  his 
counsel  and  his  work  influential  in  the  independ- 
ence of  this  state.  In  the  selection  of  Lucien 
Thompson,  a  great-grandson  of  Ebenezer  Thomp- 
son, to  represent  the  town  on  this  occasion,  the 
people  of  Durham  observed  the  proprieties  of  the 
occasion.  Ebenezer  Thompson  and  John  Sullivan 
were  colleague  deputies  from  Durham  in  the  first 
revolutionary  provincial  assembly  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. The  former  was  soon  made  secretary  of  the 
province  in  place  of  the  royalist  official  removed 
from  his  office,  and  he  held  that  position  from 
1775  to  the  year  1786,  was  one  of  the  council 
for  five  years,  from  1776  to  1781,  and  was  one  of 
the  Committee  of  Safety  appointed  by  the  province, 
to  which  were  given  almost  despotic  powers  during 
the  war  ;  was  twice  appointed  a  delegate  to  Con- 
gress, but  was  compelled  to  decline  on  account  of 
his  health;  was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional 

3 


22  DEDICATION   OF  THE 

Convention  of  1791-2;  and  he  held  the   office  of 
judge  for  fifteen  years. 

The  erection  of  this  monument  was  too  long 
delayed.  It  will  be  a  hundred  years  next  January, 
since  the  bold  and  gallant  soldier,  the  wise  and  far- 
sighted  statesman,  was  buried  on  yonder  height, 
where  the  trees  overshadow  his  grave.  New 
Hampshire  has  lost  its  first  opportunity.  Fifteen 
years  ago,  the  people  of  New  York  dwelling  in  the 
great  valleys  where  the  Iroquois  had  lived,  and 
from  which  they  had  desolated  with  tomahawk  and 
fire  the  frontier  settlements,  held  four  celebrations, 
at  four  different  places,  in  commemoration  of  the 
work  done  by  Major-General  John  Sullivan  and  his 
gallant  forces,  just  one  hundred  years  before.  One 
of  these  four  celebrations  was  at  Geneseo,  and 
one  at  Aurora.  At  a  third  place,  Waterloo,  was 
erected  a  small  monument  bearing  the  name  of  Sul- 
livan. The  fourth  and  principal  celebration  was  on 
the  battle  ground  of  Newtown.  Here  the  day  was 
honored  by  the  presence  of  the  governor  of  New 
York,  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  gov- 
ernor of  New  Hampshire,  each  with  his  military 
staff.  Gen.  "William  T.  Sherman  was  there  with 
his  appropriate  staff.  "  I  come  here,"  he  said,  "  as  a 
representative  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States," 
— of  which  he  was  then,  under  the  President,  the 
head.  It  was  estimated,  as  is  given  in  the  beautiful 
volume  wherein  the  State  of  New  York  gathered 
all  the  proceedings  and  all  available  ancient  reports 
and  diaries,  and  in  which  it  placed  opposite  the  title- 
page  an  engraving  of  John  Sullivan,  that  fifty  thou- 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  23 

sand  people  were  present  on  the  occasion.  The 
inscription  upon  the  fine  monument  then  dedicated, 
standing  on  Sullivan  Hill,  designates  the  service  of 
Major-General  John  Sullivan,  and  with  that  men- 
tions the  names  of  his  four  brigadiers,  among  which 
is  the  name  of  Enoch  Poor,  of  New  Hampshire, 
who  there  gallantly  led  the  three  New  Hampshire 
regiments  of  the  Continental  line,  commanded  by 
their  noble  colonels,  in  the  decisive  act  of  the  bat- 
tle. 

New  Hampshire  furnished,  in  the  Revolution,  a 
wonderful  line  of  colonels,  both  in  its  regular  regi- 
ments and  in  those  specially  raised  for  particular 
service.  What  state  gave  to  its  entire  quota  such 
names  as  Stark,  Reed,  and  Poor,  at  the  very  begin- 
ning of  the  war?  Of  their  successors,  find  Scam- 
mell,  who  went  from  John  Sullivan's  law  office  a 
hundreds  rods  from  this  spot,  to  become  adjutant- 
general  of  the  entire  army  of  the  Revolution; 
Henry  Dearborn,  who  became  a  major-general  and 
secretary  of  war ;  the  gallant  Joseph  Cilley,  George 
Reid,  Nathan  Hale,  Timothy  Bedel;  such  and 
others  were  on  the  list  of  New  Hampshire  colonels. 
Nor  should  Winborne  Adams  be  forgotten,  who 
went  from  yonder  dwelling-house,  and  fell  at 
Bemis  Height  while  commanding  the  Second  New 
Hampshire.  Nor  can  the  names  of  patriots  like 
Weare,  Langdon,  Bartlett,  Whipple,  Folsom, 
Wentworth  of  Somersworth,  Thornton,  Wingate, 
Gilman,  Belknap,  and  Livermore,  be  left  to  silence. 
Honors  to  all  the  brave  leaders,  many  of  whom  I 
cannot  now  name,  will  come  in  due  time.  That  we 


24  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

honor  one  to-day  is  no  disparagement  to  the  mem- 
ory of  others. 

But,  for  this  particular  occasion,  we  can  only  ask 
the  question,  "  What  were  the  public  services  of 
John  Sullivan,  which  entitle  him  to  this  recogni- 
tion?" To  this  question  scarcely  an  outline  can  be 
given  in  reply.  But  such  an  outline  at  least  is  ap- 
propriate, as  the  times  of  the  Revolution  grow  dim 
in  the  past.  So  far  as  his  services  are  concerned, 
this  monument  has  the  eloquence  of  silence.  It 
gives  no  items  of  public  service.  It  indulges  in  no 
eulogistic  epithets.  This  is  right.  It  simply  says, 
«  John  Sullivan,  born  Feb.  17,  1740;  died  Jan.  23, 
1795."  It  is  enough. 

He  was  a  son  of  New  Hampshire.  The  ency- 
clopedias even  now  almost  universally  record  him 
as  a  native  of  Berwick  in  Maine.  It  is  a  mistake. 
In  my  boyhood,  Michael  Reade,  an  aged  citizen  of 
Dover,  whose  clear  mind  was  filled  with  traditions 
which  he  gave  to  me,  insisted  that  John  Sullivan 
was  born  in  Somersworth,  part  of  old  Dover,  in  a 
winter  when  the  father  had  brought  his  family 
across  the  river  during  a  term  of  service  as 
teacher.  I  found  this  tradition  verified  by  a  state- 
ment in  the  New  Hampshire  Gazette,  of  March  10, 
1787.  In  the  political  campaign,  a  handbill  had 
objected  to  Sullivan's  election  to  the  presidency  of 
the  state  on  the  two  grounds  that  he  was  a  soldier 
and  born  outside  of  New  Hampshire.  To  the 
latter  objection  the  reply  was  made,  "  Surely  this 
collector  of  public  intelligence  has  not  consulted 
all  the  people  in  this  state,  or  he  would  have  found 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  25 

out  that  President  Sullivan  was  born  in  Somers- 
worth,  in  the  county  of  Strafford."  !N~ew  Hamp- 
shire should  keep  the  enrolment  of  its  own  son. 

The  son  of  a  poor  teacher1  exiled  from  his 
native  land,  but  who,  educated  upon  the  Continent, 
was  familiar  with  five  languages;  son  also  of  a 
mother  who  when  asked  why  she  came  to  this 
country  replied,  "  I  came  here  to  raise  up  govern- 
ors " ;  and  two  of  her  sons  and  one  great-grandson 
became  governors  of  states2  trained  by  this  father, 
especially  in  classic  literature ;  dependent  upon  his 
own  efforts ;  reading  law  in  an  almost  menial  posi- 
tion in  the  family  of  the  eminent  lawyer,  Samuel 
Livermore,  of  Portsmouth ;  marrying  at  the  age  of 
twenty;  settling  as  a  lawyer  in  this  place,  and  Dec. 
19,  1764,  purchasing  from  the  heirs  of  Dr.  Samuel 
Adams  yonder  premises  which  Parson  Hugh 
Adams,  father  of  Samuel,  had  purchased  of  Jo- 
seph Burnham,  Aug.  7,  1717, — where  Sullivan 
made  his  home  during  his  whole  life ;  brilliant,  ver- 
satile, energetic,  eloquent,  he  speedily  achieved  suc- 
cess at  the  bar  as  an  advocate,  and  by  his  active 
enterprise  in  establishing  mills,  fast  accumulated 
property.  But  the  oppressive  measures  of  the 
British  ministry  found  in  him  a  bold  opponent.  I 
cannot  but  think  that  much  of  his  dislike  of  British 
administration  was  born  with  him.  He  was  the 

JMay  20,  1723,  Master  "Sullefund"  was  chosen  one  of  the  two 
teachers  of  the  town  of  Dover,  at  £30  salary  per  year. 

2  John  Sullivan  was  governor  of  New  Hampshire ;  James  Sullivan 
was  governor  of  Massachusetts;  and  Samuel  Wells,  born  in  Durham, 
was  governor  of  Maine.  The  brilliant  lawyer,  John  S.  Wells,  a  native 
of  Durham  and  brother  of  Samuel,  was  attorney-general,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  United  States  Senate. 


26  DEDICATION  OF   THE 

descendant  of  a  line  which  had  for  many  genera- 
tions been  despoiled  of  their  possessions,  outraged 
in  their  consciences  as  to  the  worship  of  God,  sub- 
ject to  the  bloody  and  murderous  assaults  of  the 
English  government.  He  was  of  the  O'Sullivans 
of  the  southwestern  part  of  Ireland,  near  Bantry 
Bay,  to  whom  the  name  of  England  was  justly  a 
synonym  for  merciless  tyranny  and  bloody  despot- 
ism. He  could  trace  his  ancestry  to  holders  of 
castles  leveled  by  the  English  invader,  and  to 
worshipers  whose  natural  rights  have  been  denied. 
His  grandfather,  Major  Philip  O'Sullivan,  had  been 
a  soldier  in  the  defense  of  Limerick,  the  last  place 
in  Ireland  to  submit  to  William  III,  and  on  its  fall 
had  chosen  liberty  in  exile  in  France  where  he  died, 
rather  than  submit  to  forswear  himself  at  home. 
His  father,  Owen,  taken  by  that  father  as  a  babe  to 
France,  had,  when  attaining  manhood,  gone  back 
to  Ireland,  but  speedily  found  that  the  oppression 
of  the  English  government  would  give  him  no 
peace  except  at  the  cost  of  slavery.  I  am  sure  that 
John  Sullivan,  son  of  Irish  exiles,  had  hereditary 
insight  into  what  British  tyranny  might,  if  unre- 
sisted,  exact  from  Americans.  Nor  was  there  any 
doubt  of  his  sympathies  prior  to  the  outbreak  of 
war.  "Your  approbation  of  my  conduct  while  at 
the  bar,"  he  wrote  to  the  Committee  of  Safety  of 
Hillsborough  County,  Aug.  10,  1775,  "  acting  in 
defense  of  an  injured  people  against  the  arbitrary 
tools  of  government  gives  me  the  highest  satisfac- 
tion." 

This  monument  declares  that  the  powder  seized 


SULLIVAN   MONUMENT.  27 

from  Fort  William  and  Mary,  December  14, 1774, 
was  stored  in  the  cellar  of  the  meeting-house  which 
once  stood  upon  this  spot.  That  powder  was  brought 
here  by  John  Sullivan,  and,  under  his  lead,  Alex- 
ander Scammell,  Eleazer  Bennett,  John  Demerritt, 
Ebenezer  Thompson,  and  their  associates,  whom  he 
summoned  for  the  purpose.  Whoever  may  have 
been  present  on  the  two  days  of  that  seizure,  it 
was  to  this  event  that  Livius  referred  when  he 
wrote  to  Sullivan,  "You  were  the  first  man  in 
active  rebellion."  "  Major  John  Sullivan  and  Capt. 
John  Langdon,"  wrote  Belknap,  "  distinguished 
themselves  as  leaders  in  this  aifair."  Adams,  in 
his  "Annals  of  Portsmouth,"  who  could  consult 
contemporaries  of  the  event,  said  it  occurred  "  under 
the  direction  of  Major  John  Sullivan  and  Capt. 
John  Langdon."  These  men  had  received  their 
commissions  two  years  before,  in  the  Second  New 
Hampshire  militia,  where  Sullivan  had  earlier  been 
a  captain. 

"When  I  returned  from  Congress,  in  1774," 
wrote  Sullivan,  some  years  later,  "  and  saw  the 
order  of  the  British  King  and  Council,  prohibiting 
military  stores  being  sent  to  this  country,  I  took 
the  alarm,  clearly  perceived  the  designs  of  the 
British  ministry,  and  wrote  several  pieces  upon 
the  necessity  of  securing  military  stores;  which 
pieces  were  published  in  several  papers."  Sullivan, 
bold  and  intrepid,  then  an  active  member  of  the 
Continental  Congress,  and  well  known  throughout 
the  province  by  his  leadership  at  the  bar,  had  great 
influence.  The  seizure  of  the  munitions  at  the  fort, 


28  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

though  sudden  at  last,  was  doubtless  not  without 
previous  thought.  The  result  of  this  act  was  mo- 
mentous. It  was  the  first  act  of  armed  rebellion. 
It  preceded  Concord  and  Lexington  by  four  months 
of  time.  The  captors  of  the  fort  entered  it  against 
the  fire  of  field-pieces  and  muskets,  openly  and  in 
broad  daylight.  They  pulled  down  the  royal  flag, 
the  first  time  in  American  history.  They  gave 
three  cheers  in  honor  of  their  success.  They  car- 
ried off  a  hundred  barrels  of  powder,  some  light 
guns,  and  small  arms,  which,  under  the  care  of 
Sullivan,  were  taken  up  the  river  now  flowing  in 
your  sight,  but  then  covered  with  thick  winter  ice 
through  which  a  pathway  had  to  be  cut.  "  Men  on 
guard  at  Durham,"  wrote  Belknap,  December  21, 
in  his  diary  not  printed. 

This  audacity  had  its  effect  in  England.  It  was 
the  reply  to  the  King's  proclamation.  It  so  irri- 
tated that  monarch  that  thoughts  of  conciliation 
were  at  once  ended.  In  this  province,  the  gov- 
ernor issued  threatening  proclamations.  He  dis- 
missed the  offending  major  and  captain  from  their 
posts  in  the  militia.  In  answer  to  this  edict,  all 
persons  in  Durham  holding  civil  or  military  sta- 
tions under  the  governor  assembled  at  yonder 
tavern,  moved  across  this  little  green,  and  here 
publicly  burned  their  commissions  and  insignia 
of  office.  Sullivan,  in  the  public  prints,  boldly 
defended  the  seizure.  Here  he  also  raised  a  com- 
pany of  eighty-three  men,  which  he,  being  an 
ardent  lover  of  military  exercises,  proceeded  to 
drill  for  the  coming  conflict.  The  powder  stored 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  29 

upon  this  spot,  and  that  in  the  safe  custody  of 
Capt.  John  Deraerritt  at  his  home  in  Madbury,  was 
taken  by  that  person  in  his  ox  cart  to  Cambridge, 
as  directed  by  Sullivan,  where  it  arrived  just  in 
season  to  be  dealt  out  to  the  troops  at  Bunker  Hill. 
But  Sullivan  had  already  entered  the  national 
life.  On  the  twenty-first  day  of  July,  1774,  the 
convention  of  New  Hampshire  deputies,  which  was 
a  voluntary  body  direct  from  the  people,  in  which 
he  represented  the  town  of  Durham,  appointed  him 
and  Colonel  Nathaniel  Folsom  delegates  to  the 
Continental  Congress  which  was  to  meet  at  Phila- 
delphia; and  he  was  re-appointed  January  25, 
1775.  He  was  thus  the  first  person  ever  chosen  to 
represent  New  Hampshire  in  Congress.  Of  the 
signs  of  his  activity  and  usefulness  in  this  station, 
I  will  present  but  two  instances.  In  the  first  Con- 
gress, he  was  placed  immediately  upon  two  impor- 
tant committees.  The  most  important  was  that 
upon  the  grievances  of  the  people,  of  which  he  was 
chairman.  "  The  committee  of  violations  of  rights," 
says  John  Adams  in  his  diary,  "  reported  a  set  of 
articles  which  were  drawn  by  Mr.  John  Sullivan  of 
New  Hampshire,  and  these  two  declarations,  the 
one  of  rights  and  the  other  of  violations,  which 
are  printed  in  the  journals  of  Congress  for  1774, 
were  two  years  afterwards  recapitulated  in  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  on  the  4th  of  July, 
1776."  New  Hampshire  has  perhaps  not  remem- 
bered that  the  bold  hand  and  the  legal  training  of 
John  Sullivan  are  in  the  immortal  Declaration  of 
Independence. 


30  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

The  other  important  position  which  he  took  was 
in  favor  of  the  establishment  of  state  governments, 
in  1775.  John  Adams  recites  his  own  opinion  as 
expressed  to  Congress : — 

"  That  this  could  be  done  only  by  conventions  of 
representatives  chosen  by  the  people  in  the  several 
colonies  in  the  most  exact  proportions.  That  it 
was  my  opinion  that  Congress  ought  now  to  recom- 
mend to  the  people  of  every  colony  to  call  such 
conventions  immediately,  and  set  up  governments 
of  their  own,  under  their  own  authority;  for  the 
people  were  the  source  of  all  authority  and  original 
of  all  power.  These  were  new,  strange,  and  terri- 
ble doctrines  to  the  greatest  part  of  the  members, 
but  not  a  very  small  number  heard  them  with 
apparent  pleasure,  and  none  more  than  Mr.  John 
Rutledge  of  South  Carolina  and  Mr.  John  Sullivan 
of  New  Hampshire." 

Again  he  writes : — 

"  Mr.  Sullivan  was  fully  agreed  with  me  in  the 
necessity  of  instituting  governments,  and  he  sec- 
onded me  very  handsomely  in  supporting  the  argu- 
ment in  Congress.  .  .  .  Not  long  after  this, 
Mr.  John  Rutledge  returned  to  South  Carolina, 
and  Mr.  Sullivan  went  with  General  Washington 
to  Cambridge,  so  that  I  lost  two  of  my  able  co- 
adjutors. But  we  soon  found  the  benefit  of  their 
cooperation  at  a  distance. 

"  On  Wednesday,  October  18,  the  delegates  from 
New  Hampshire  laid  before  the  Congress  a  part  of 
the  instructions  delivered  to  them  by  their  colony. 
.  .  .  This  instruction  might  have  been  obtained 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  31 

by  Mr.  Langdon  or  Mr.  Whipple,  but  I  always 
supposed  it  was  General  Sullivan  who  suggested 
the  measure,  because  he  left  Congress  with  a 
stronger  impression  upon  his  mind  of  the  impor- 
tance of  it  than  I  ever  observed  in  either  of  the 
others." 

A  state  government  was  not  long  after  estab- 
lished; it  became  a  fact  in  January,  17T6,  and 
although  General  Sullivan  was  then  in  the  field, 
his  advice  was  sought  in  the  formation  of  the  Con- 
stitution, and  his  influence  felt.  New  Hampshire 
thus  again  took  the  lead.  It  was  the  first  of  the 
provinces  to  establish  a  state  government.  In  our 
tune  it  looks  as  if  this  must  have  been  an  easy 
task.  But  the  patriot  founders  encountered  great 
obstacles.  The  sentiment  was  not  all  one  way. 
When,  in  January,  1775,  a  son  was  born  to  Gov. 
John  Went  worth,  the  grandmother  of  the  child 
wrote  to  a  friend,  "  Had  a  young  prince  been  born, 
there  could  not  have  been  more  rejoicing.  The 
ships  fired  their  guns.  All  the  gentlemen  of  the 
town  and  from  the  king's  ships  came  the  next  day 
to  pay  their  compliments.  The  ladies  followed." 
The  rejoicings  continued  for  a  week.  Such  was 
still  the  feeling  of  certain  classes  in  Portsmouth 
toward  the  representative  of  royalty.  Even  in 
January,  1776,  when  the  convention  of  deputies 
was  in  session  at  Exeter  and  considering  the  pro- 
priety of  establishing  a  legislature,  a  legal  meeting 
of  the  freeholders  of  Portsmouth,  including  more 
than  two  hundred  persons,  unanimously  remon- 
strated against  such  hasty  and  untimely  action  as 


32  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

practically  meaning  independence.  A  writer  in  the 
same  month  in  the  Portsmouth  Gazette,  says  of 
"  independency "  :  "  It  is  a  monster  of  so  horrid 
mien  as  to  be  hated,  needs  but  to  be  seen." 

But  Sullivan  felt  no  hesitation.  While  he  was 
in  the  trenches  around  Boston,  he  wrote  to  John 
Adams,  Dec.  21, 1775,  urging  a  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence. His  language  is  impassioned :  "  Let  me 
ask  if  we  have  anything  to  hope  from  the  mercy  of 
His  Majesty  or  his  Ministers.  Have  we  any  encour- 
agement from  the  people  of  Great  Britain?  Could 
they  exert  themselves  more  if  we  had  shaken  off 
the  yoke  and  declared  ourselves  independent? 
"Why,  then,  in  God's  name,  is  it  not  done?  Whence 
arises  this  spirit  of  moderation, — this  want  of  deci- 
sion? Do  the  members  of  your  respectable  body 
think  that  the  enemy  will  throw  their  shot  and 
shells  with  more  force  than  at  present?  Do  they 
think  the  fate  of  Charlestown  or  Falmouth  might 
have  been  worse,  or  the  King's  Proclamation  more 
severe,  if  we  had  openly  declared  war?  Could  they 
have  treated  our  prisoners  worse  if  we  were  in  open 
and  avowed  rebellion,  than  they  do  now?  " 

John  Sullivan's  service  in  the  field  began  with 
his  appointment  as  Brigadier-General,  June  22, 
1775.  He  left  Congress  immediately  and  reported 
to  Washington,  at  Cambridge.  From  that  date,  he 
devoted  himself  to  his  country  in  war  with  a  brav- 
ery sometimes  almost  reckless,  with  a  faithfulness 
unchallenged,  and  with  military  qualities  recognized 
by  Washington  as  being  of  a  high  order. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  battles  of  the 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  33 

Revolution  were,  in  most  instances,  temporary 
defeats.  Our  forces  were  often  merely  raw  levies, 
owing  to  the  folly  of  Congress,  and  its  ignorance  of 
the  art  of  war.  We  were,  in  many  cases,  outnum- 
bered and  outnumbered  by  soldiers  thoroughly 
disciplined  and  well  supplied  with  munitions  of  war. 
Against  all  these  Washington  had  to  contend.  It 
was  his  patience,  his  sagacity,  his  love  of  country, 
which  succeeded.  In  the  few  victories  achieved,  we 
generally  had  the  advantage  of  numbers.  After 
Stark,  with  his  independent  New  Hampshire  com- 
mand, had  crushed  the  British  detachment  at  Ben- 
nington,  an  ordinary  second  lieutenant — such  were 
the  superior  numbers  and  position — could  not  have 
failed  to  capture  Burgoyne.  Yorktown  was  a  vic- 
tory because  our  army  had  become  disciplined,  and 
the  French  forces  cooperated  with  Washington's 
strategy.  The  British  nation  became  weary  of  a 
costly  war,  and  conceded  our  independence. 

This  occasion  scarcely  allows  more  than  a  cata- 
logue of  services  rendered  and  campaigns  endured. 

He  was  stationed  at  Winter  Hill  on  the  left  of 
the  American  line  of  investment,  in  the  siege  of 
Boston.  He  superintended  works  of  fortification. 
He  was  twice  sent  to  the  Pascataqua,  to  provide 
for  fortifying  and  defending  its  harbors.  There 
he  built  defensive  works,  and  there  he  left  Col. 
Joshua  Wingate,  of  Stratham,  in  charge,  with 
troops  which  New  Hampshire  furnished.  When, 
late  in  1775,  the  Connecticut  troops  refused  to 
remain  longer,  and  ruin  seemed  imminent,  it  was 
imperative  that  Washington  should  have  five  thou- 


34  DEDICATION  OP  THE 

sand  recruits,  and  that  commander  appealed  to 
Sullivan  to  procure  two  thousand  men  from  New 
Hampshire.  Sullivan  came  home  and  with  the 
noble  cooperation  of  the  patriots  in  authority,  in  ten 
days  secured  the  whole  number  and  marched  them 
to  Massachusetts.  In  a  single  week,  Capt.  John 
Waldron,  of  Dover,  who  had  come  back  with  Sulli- 
van for  the  purpose,  enlisted  six  hundred  men  and 
became  their  colonel. 

When  the  enemy  had  been  driven  from  Boston, 
March  17,  1776,  General  Sullivan,  with  "Washing- 
ton's approval,  was  assigned  to  our  army  in  Canada. 
When  he  reached  it,  it  was  in  a  pitiable  condition. 
The  brave  Montgomery  had  been  killed  in  the 
useless  attack  upon  Quebec.  Major-Gen.  John 
Thomas  had  been  placed  in  command  by  Congress. 
He  had  felt  it  necessary  to  give  up  hope  of  success 
with  his  then  force.  General  Thomas,  after  with- 
drawing from  the  advanced  positions,  soon  died,  and 
shortly  after,  General  Sullivan  arrived  with  some 
additional  troops,  and  at  once  necessarily  took 
command.  At  first,  he  was  somewhat  sanguine. 
He  reinforced  St.  Clair,  who  was  near  Three  Rivers, 
where  he  had  been  ordered  by  Sullivan's  temporary 
predecessor,  but  the  movement  was  useless.  Bur- 
goyne  was  arriving  with  reinforcements.  Carleton 
had  an  effective  force  of  ten  thousand  men  admira- 
bly disciplined  and  well  supplied  with  munitions  of 
war,  while  Sullivan  had  but  seven  thousand,  half  of 
whom  were  prostrated  by  disease.  "  The  Ameri- 
cans," says  Bancroft,  "  were  in  imminent  danger  of 
being  cut  off  and  utterly  destroyed."  From  this 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  35 

position,  with  the  enemy  only  two  hours  distant, 
Sullivan  extricated  his  little  army  with  admirable 
skill.  Not  a  sick  man  was  left  behind,  nor  a  spade 
lost  from  his  equipment.  When,  on  the  12th  of 
July,  1776,  he  relinquished  the  command,  his  field 
officers  presented  to  him  an  address,  which  men- 
tioned with  gratitude  his  unwearied  labor,  his  tender 
care  of  the  sick,  and  their  esteem  for  the  skill 
which  he  had  exhibited.  "  It  is  to  you,"  they  said, 
"we  owe  our  safety."  They  speak  of  him  as  the 
one  who,  "upon  the  late  trying  occasion,  has  com- 
forted, supported,  and  protected  the  shattered 
remains  of  a  debilitated  army."  Among  those  who 
signed  this  address  were  John  Stark,  Enoch  Poor, 
James  Reed,  Anthony  Wayne,  and  Arthur  St. 
Clair. 

The  opinion  of  Washington  as  to  Sullivan's 
qualifications  was  asked  by  Congress  in  view  of 
contemplated  promotions.  Washington  replied, 
June  17,  1776,  in  the  most  frank  manner.  He  said, 
from  his  own  knowledge,  that  Sullivan  was  "active, 
spirited,  and  zealously  attached  to  the  cause." 
"  That  he  does  not  want  abilities,  many  members  of 
Congress  can  testify";  that  he  has  a  "little  tincture 
of  vanity";  that  he  had  limited  experience  like  all 
of  "us,"  but  that  justice  required  him  to  acknowl- 
edge Sullivan's  "genius."  Seventeen  days  after 
his  return  from  Canada,  July  29,  1776,  he  was 
promoted  to  be  Major-General,  and  joined  Wash- 
ington in  New  York. 

He  was  assigned  to  duty  on  Long  Island,  not 
far  from  New  York,  under  General  Green,  and 


36  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

assisted  in  the  erection  of  defenses.  General  Green 
being  taken  sick,  General  Putnam  was  assigned  to 
command,  with  Sullivan  and  Lord  Stirling  as  subor- 
dinates. The  battle,  which  took  place  Aug.  27, 
could  have  had  but  one  result.  A  line  of  defense 
extending  six  miles,  against  an  enemy  numbering 
at  least  four  to  one,  whose  generals  were  Howe, 
Cornwallis,  and  Clinton,  could  not  be  maintained 
by  General  Putnam.  Sullivan's  bravery  was  con- 
spicuous, but  both  he  and  Lord  Stirling  were  taken 
prisoners. 

Exchanged  soon  after,  Sullivan  was  assigned  to 
the  force  under  the  command  of  Charles  Lee. 
When  that  erratic  officer,  who  had  been  steadily 
disobeying  the  orders  of  Washington  to  join  him, 
was  taken  prisoner  through  his  own  folly,  Sullivan 
immediately  took  command,  and  instantly  proceeded 
to  join  the  Commander-in-Chief.  His  arrival  ena- 
bled Washington  to  make  that  brilliant  movement 
upon  Trenton,  Dec.  26,  1776,  which  so  revived  the 
hopes  of  the  discouraged  patriots. 

The  Delaware  was  crossed,  and  a  rapid  march  of 
nine  or  ten  miles  followed,  making  fifteen  in  all. 
Sullivan  was  in  command  of  the  right  wing,  and 
Greene,  with  Washington  present,  in  command  of 
the  left.  The  march  was  in  a  storm  of  snow  and 
sleet.  Sullivan  sent  word  to  Washington  that  the 
ammunition  was  thoroughly  wet,  and  asked  his 
intentions.  "  Use  the  bayonet,"  was  the  reply. 
This  precisely  suited  the  ardent  nature  of  Sullivan. 
He  dashed  into  Trenton,  with  John  Stark  in 
advance,  overpowering  all  opposition  and  disposing 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  37 

his  troops  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  any 
escape  on  the  right.  Greene's  cooperation  took 
care  of  the  left,  and  the  Hessians  were  captured. 

Eight  days  after  this  brilliant  success,  while 
"Washington  was  on  a  projected  march  to  Bruns- 
wick, occurred  the  affair  at  Princeton,  in  which 
Sullivan  drove  two  British  regiments,  one  of  which 
had  taken  refuge  in  the  college.  "While  the  17th 
[British]  was  engaging  those  troops  [a  large  force 
of  Southern  militia] ,"  wrote  Sullivan  to  Meshech 
Weare,  Feb.  13,  1777,  "six  hundred  Yankees  had 
the  town  to  take  against  the  40th  and  55th  regi- 
ments, which  they  did  without  loss,  owing  to  the 
manner  of  attack.  Nearly  two  hundred  of  the 
enemy  were  taken  in  the  pursuit." 

Sullivan  was  stationed  for  a  while  at  Princeton. 
In  June,  1777,  he  divined  the  purpose  of  Howe, 
who  was  at  Brunswick,  to  get  between  Washington 
and  himself  and  capture  his  force.  Howe  was 
already  on  the  march  when  Sullivan  defeated  that 
purpose  by  rapidly  moving  across  the  Delaware. 

After  months  of  strategic  movements,  or  of 
patient  waiting,  by  Washington,  Sullivan  was  at 
Hanover,  checking  as  far  as  possible  the  petty 
annoyances  of  the  enemy.  In  August,  he  deter- 
mined upon  an  expedition  to  Staten  Island,  twenty 
miles  distant,  occupied  to  some  extent  by  British 
troops  and  Tories,  from  which  frequent  forays  had 
been  made.  Crossing  in  the  night  of  the  twenty- 
first,  the  descent,  which  was  at  first  successful,  did 
not  prove  effective.  He  took  some  prisoners,  but 
he  lost  more.  In  answer  to  complaints  made  by 

3 


38  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

personal  adversaries,  he  demanded  and  eventually 
secured  a  Court  of  Inquiry.  The  court,  consisting 
of  Lord  Stirling,  Generals  MacDougall  and  Knox, 
Colonel  Spencer,  and  Colonel  Clark,  unanimously 
reported,  Oct.  12,  "  That  the  expedition  against  the 
enemy  on  Staten  Island  was  eligible,  and  promised 
great  advantage  to  the  cause  of  America;  that  it 
was  well  concerted  and  the  orders  for  the  execution 
proper;  and  would  have  succeeded,  with  reputation 
to  the  general  and  his  troops,  had  it  not  in  some 
measure  been  rendered  abortive  by  accidents  which 
were  out  of  the  power  of  the  general  to  foresee  or 
prevent."  And  that  "General  Sullivan's  conduct 
in  planning  and  executing  the  expedition  was  such 
that,  in  the  opinion  of  this  court,  he  deserves  the 
approbation  of  the  country  and  not  its  censure." 
Congress  thereupon  resolved  that  the  result,  so 
honorable  to  General  Sullivan,  was  highly  pleasing 
to  themselves,  and  that  the  opinion  of  the  court 
should  be  published  in  justification  of  that  officer. 
At  the  Brandywine,  September  11,  Sullivan, 
commanding  the  right  wing,  was  not  able  to 
oppose  successfully  the  British  advance.  Wash- 
ington, with  far  inlerior  forces,  was  endeavoring  to 
defeat,  or  at  least  delay,  the  British  movement 
upon  Philadelphia.  Sullivan  was  ordered  to 
occupy  certain  eligible  ground,  taking  command 
of  three  divisions.  Intelligence  first  received  of 
the  enemy's  movements,  and  upon  which  Wash- 
ington acted,  was  contradicted  by  later  reports, 
brought  in  by  reliable  officers.  The  original  re- 
port as  to  the  place  of  crossing  by  the  British  was 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  39 

in  accordance  with  the  opinion  which  Sullivan  had 
given  to  Washington  as  to  the  movement  which 
the  enemy  ought  to  make.  But,  as  was  his  duty, 
he  immediately  communicated  the  second  report  to 
Washington,  who  was  within  twenty  minutes'  ride, 
and  asked  instructions.  Washington  ordered  a 
temporary  suspension.  He  subsequently  declared 
that  Sullivan  would  have  failed  in  his  duty  if  he 
had  acted  otherwise.  The  original  information, 
however,  was  again  confirmed  and  Sullivan  made 
the  new  front  required.  His  position  was  isolated 
and  without  supports.  It  was  the  common  story  of 
American  forces,  many  of  them  raw  troops,  out-1- 
numbered  three  to  one  by  the  disciplined  forces  of 
Britain  led  by  such  generals  as  Cornwallis  and 
Howe.  Some  parts  of  the  American  line  gave 
way,  but  as  quickly  did  Sullivan,  if  failing  to  rally 
them,  place  himself  in  other  divisions.  More  than 
once  were  the  British  driven  back  from  the  well- 
chosen  position.  Sullivan's  activity  and  skill  were 
everywhere  visible.  "  His  uniform  bravery,  cool- 
ness, and  intrepidity,"  wrote  one  of  Lord  Stirling's 
staff,  "  both  in  the  heat  of  battle,  rallying  and  form- 
ing the  troops  when  broke  from  their  ranks,  ap- 
peared to  me  to  be  truly  consistent  with,  or  rather 
exceeded,  any  idea  I  had  ever  of  the  greatest  sol- 
dier." For  an  hour  and  a  half  his  troops  held  the 
high  ground,  and  at  sunset,  some  hours  later, 
although  retreating,  they  were  still  holding  the 
enemy,  until  relieved  by  Washington.  The  British 
lost  nearly  six  hundred  men. 

Upon  the  representations  of  a  congressman  inimi- 


40  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

cal    to    General    Sullivan,   who    had    ridden    out 
toward  the  battle,  congress  in  a  moment  of  anger, 
and  without  the  slightest  examination,  ordered  Sul- 
livan's  suspension   from   command.     To  this  vote 
Washington  returned  a  curt,  sharp  remonstrance. 
He  knew  that  Sullivan  had  not  failed  in  his  duty. 
Congress,  upon  a  statement  of  facts,  rescinded  its 
order,  with  but  two  dissenting  votes.     It  is  worthy 
of  note  that  the  congressman  who  thus  maligned  a 
brave  soldier  was  subsequently,  while  governor  of 
a  Southern  state,  taken  prisoner  by  the   British; 
being  allowed  certain  liberties  on  parole,  he  broke 
that  parole,  and  that  the  people  of  his  state,  at  the 
next  election,  on  that  account  defeated  him. 

The  battle  at  Germantown  occurred  October  4, 

1777.  General   Sullivan   here   led  two   divisions, 
and   succeeded   in  the   attack   committed  to   him, 
driving  the  enemy  from  their  positions.     The  fail- 
ure of  divisions  upon   his  left,  however,  made  it 
eventually  necessary  for    the    commander-in-chief 
to  order  a  retreat.     It  is  sufficient  to  notice  that  in 
his  report  to  congress  Washington  says,  "  In  jus- 
tice to  General  Sullivan  and  the  whole  right  wing 
of  the  army,  whose  conduct  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  observing,  as  they  acted  immediately  under  my 
eye,  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  both 
officers  and  men  behaved  with  a  degree  of  gallan- 
try that  did  them  the  highest  honor." 

General  Sullivan  passed  the  winter  in  the  suffer- 
ings of  Valley  Forge,  but  on  the  17th  of  April, 

1778,  he  was  assigned  to  command  of  the  opera- 
tions in  Rhode  Island,  most  of  which  was  then  held 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  41 

by  the  British,  who  occupied  a  strongly  fortified 
position  at  Newport.  It  was  expected,  in  time, 
that  with  the  cooperation  of  the  French  fleet  under 
d'Estaing,  who  could  also  furnish  a  land  force  of 
four  thousand  men,  Newport  could  be  reduced. 
General  Sullivan's  headquarters  were  at  first  at 
Providence.  In  the  course  of  the  season,  addi- 
tional troops  were  sent  to  him,  militia  called  in, 
and  special  enlistments  made,  in  which  New  Hamp- 
shire did  its  part.  This  gave  him  a  force  often 
thousand  men,  in  two  divisions  respectively  under 
Greene  and  Lafayette. 

"Nothing  can  give  me  more  pleasure,"  wrote 
Lafayette  in  advance,  "than  to  go  under  your 
orders;  and  it  is  with  the  greatest  happiness  that 
I  see  my  wishes  on  that  point  entirely  satisfied.  I 
both  love  and  esteem  you;  therefore  the  moment 
we  shall  fight  together  will  be  extremely  pleasant 
and  agreeable  to  me." 

The  French  fleet  came,  but  departed;  it  came 
back,  but  it  sailed  away.  A  strong  English  fleet 
came  to  Newport,  and  the  two  fleets  looked  at  each 
other  but  did  not  fight. 

The  disappointment  to  the  Americans  was  in- 
tense. Sullivan  moved  alone  to  within  two  miles 
of  Newport,  but  its  strong  works  plainly  defied  cap- 
ture. He  fell  back  to  Butt's  Hill  and  made  suffi- 
cient entrenchments.  The  enemy  followed,  and 
attacked  Sullivan  on  the  29th  of  August.  The 
action  was  declared  by  Lafayette  to  be  one  of  the 
most  hotly  contested  during  the  war.  The  Ameri- 
cans numbered  but  five  thousand,  of  whom  only  fif- 


42  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

teen  hundred  had  ever  been  under  fire.1  The  num- 
ber of  the  forces  was  about  equal.  British  vessels 
fired  upon  Sullivan's  lines,  to  cover  an  intended 
flank  movement,  but  were  driven  off  by  the  sharp 
fire  of  Sullivan's  guns,  which  took  position  for  the 
purpose.  The  British  tried  to  turn  the  flanks  of 
the  Americans,  but  in  vain.  They  made  repeated 
charges,  always  to  be  driven  back.  Sullivan's 
watchful  eye  was  upon  every  part  of  the  contest, 
and  he  moved  battalions  where  their  support  was 
needed.  In  addition  to  early  cannonading,  the  bat- 
tle lasted  seven  hours.  The  British  then  gave  up 
the  contest.  History  says  that  they  lost  one  thou- 
sand men  in  that  engagement.  It  was  a  brilliant 
success  for  the  American  arms. 

"With  the  advice  of  his  officers  Sullivan  fell  back, 
and  without  disturbance,  to  the  northern  end  of  the 
island,  and  eventually  crossed  over  to  the  main 
land.  His  forces  were  diminishing  by  the  depar- 
ture of  the  militia.  His  evacuation  was  in  perfect 
order.  He  left  nothing  of  his  equipment  behind, 
nor  any  sick  or  wounded.  Criticism  has  failed  to 
find  any  reasonable  cause  of  complaint  against  Sul- 
livan's military  operations  here;  it  has  found  noth- 
ing except  his  rather  impulsive  expressions  of  dis- 
gust at  the  failure  of  the  French  admiral.  But  he 
was  of  Irish  blood. 

Samuel  Adams  wrote  of  this  campaign  as  follows : 

"General  Sullivan  behaved  as  usual  with  bravery 

.     .     .     This  unforeseen  and  unavoidable  accident 

1 1  am  happy  to  be  the  grandson  of  one  who  served  under  Sullivan 
in  this  campaign. 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  43 

left  him  too  much  inferior  to  the  British  squadron 
to  run  the  risk  with  any  degree  of  prudence.  Our 
cause  is  not  dishonored,  though  we  did  not  succeed 
to  our  wishes." 

On  the  17th  of  September  it  was  resolved  by 
congress,  "  that  the  retreat  made  by  Major-General 
Sullivan,  with  the  troops  under  his  command,  from 
Rhode  Island,  was  prudent,  timely,  and  well  con- 
ducted, and  that  congress  highly  approves  the 
same,"  and  "  that  the  thanks  of  congress  be  given 
to  Major- General  Sullivan,  and  to  the  officers  and 
troops  under  his  command,  for  their  fortitude  and 
bravery  displayed  in  the  action  of  August  29,  in 
which  they  repulsed  the  British  forces  and  main- 
tained the  field."  The  thanks  of  the  legislature  of 
New  Hampshire  were  also  presented  to  him,  and 
President  Weare,  in  communicating  the  vote,  wrote, 
"  It  is  with  particular  pleasure,  sir,  that  I  enclose 
to  you  a  copy  of  the  vote  of  the  General  Court  of 
this,  your  native  state,  by  which  you  will  see  the 
sense  the  people  here  have  of  your  merit  and  good 
conduct  in  that  important  command."  The  gen- 
eral assembly  of  Rhode  Island  also  subsequently 
gave  its  thanks  in  warm  and  glowing  language. 

General  Sullivan  remained  in  command  at  Rhode 
Island  until  the  following  spring.  Then  came  his 
assignment  to  the  work  of  chastising  the  Indians  in 
the  Susquehanna  Valley,  and  of  dealing  a  blow  at 
their  power  which  would  guard  the  frontier  settle- 
ments from  such  atrocities  as  had  befallen  Wyo- 
ming in  the  preceding  year.  British  soldiers, 
Tories,  and  Indians  were  in  combination.  The 


44  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

British  government  was  employing  the  savages  in 
this  infamous  warfare.  Congress  directed  Wash- 
ington to  provide  for  the  work  of  chastisement. 
The  orders  were  severe :  the  country  was  to  be  laid 
waste.  General  Sullivnn  was  given  four  brigades, 
with  artillery  and  riflemen.  After  much  trouble  in 
obtaining  from  the  Congressional  Board  of  Sup- 
plies suitable  rations,  he  marched  into  the  heart 
of  the  Indian  country.  In  General  Poor's  New 
Hampshire  brigade  were  the  First,  Second,  and 
Third  regiments,  commanded  respectively  by 
Colonel  Joseph  Cilley,  Lieutenant-Colonel  George 
Reid,  and  Lieutenant- Colonel  Henry  Dearborn. 
The  march  was  skilfully  managed.  General  IS".  P. 
Banks  once  said  to  me,  regarding  a  disastrous 
expedition,  "  I  did  not  suppose  that  I  had  to  tell 
an  educated  general  that  he  ought  to  throw  out 
flankers."  General  Sullivan  understood  his  work. 
On  the  29th  of  August,  1773,  his  scouts  reported 
the  existence  of  a  somewhat  disguised  defensive 
work.  He  waited  no  longer  than  to  ascertain  its 
exact  character,  for  the  moment  keeping  the  enemy 
busy  by  skirmishers'  fire.  Defenses  had  been  con- 
structed on  elevated  ground  in  the  gap,  the  right 
protected  by  a  river,  the  left  by  a  mountain,  with  a 
deep  brook  in  front  of  the  work. 

The  force  of  Indians,  Tories,  and  British  soldiers 
within,  under  command  of  the  Indian,  Joseph  Brant, 
and  the  infamous  Colonel  John  Butler,  has  been 
estimated  at  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred.  They 
comprised  the  available  force  of  the  five  nations 
who  had  resolved  here  to  make  their  stand.  Sulli- 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  45 

van  decided  promptly  upon  his  plan  of  action.  He 
placed  his  artillery  along  the  centre,  well  supported 
by  infantry,  but  the  guns  were  to  hold  their  fire 
till  the  proper  signal.  The  New  Hampshire  bri- 
gade, supported  by  Clinton's,  was  to  take  the  hill 
upon  the  enemy's  left,  and  turn  their  flank.  The 
plan  was  carried  out.  The  New  Hampshire  bri- 
gade had  to  pass  through  a  morass,  and  then  fight 
its  way  up  the  hill,  which  was  strongly  held  by  the 
Indians,  who  availed  themselves  of  every  tree. 
The  riflemen  on  the  flank  fired,  but  Poor's  brigade 
used  Sullivan's  favorite  weapon — the  bayonet.  The 
enemy  attempted  to  turn  the  right  of  the  attacking 
column,  but  was  promptly  met.  The  hill  was  car- 
ried, and  the  combined  fire  of  artillery  and  mus- 
ketry in  front  and  flank  broke  the  enemy.  How 
great  was  their  loss  was  never  known,  beside  the 
few  dead,  which  they  left  upon  the  field.  Their 
wounded,  at  least,  had  been  taken  away,  but  the 
bloody  evidences  of  serious  loss  were  visible.  Pur- 
suit was  made  for  several  miles.  One  of  our  own 
severely  wounded  was  Major  Benjamin  Titcomb,  of 
Dover. 

Sullivan  carried  out  his  orders  throughout  that 
country.  Not  a  fruit-tree  or  a  cornstalk  was  left 
standing.  Immense  quantities  of  supplies  were  de- 
stroyed. Not  a  roof- tree  was  left,  from  the  Gene- 
see  valley  to  the  Susquehanna.  Some  writers  have 
condemned  this  severity ;  but  they  forget  the  mur- 
ders of  Wyoming.  "  Washington  gave  General 
Sullivan  orders,"  said  General  W.  T.  Sherman,  "  to 
come  here  and  punish  the  Six  Nations  for  their 


46  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

cruel  massacre  in  the  valley  of  the  Wyoming,  and 
to  make  it  so  severe  that  it  would  not  occur  again. 
And  he  did  so.  General  Sullivan  obeyed  his  orders 
like  a  man  and  like  a  soldier,  and  the  result  was, 
from  that  time  forward,  your  people  settled  up 
these  beautiful  valleys." 

Upon  receiving  the  report  of  the  expedition, 
General  Washington  wrote  to  Congress,  "  I  con- 
gratulate Congress  on  his  (General  Sullivan's) 
having  completed  so  effectually  the  destruction  of 
the  whole  of  the  towns  and  settlements  of  the  hos- 
tile Indians  in  so  short  a  time  and  with  so  incon- 
siderable a  loss  of  men."  He  wrote  to  Lafayette, 
rejoicing  that  the  tribes  had  had  "  proofs  that  Great 
Britain  cannot  protect  them,  and  it  is  in  our  power 
to  chastise  them."  Washington  also  officially  u  con- 
gratulated the  army  on  the  complete  and  full  suc- 
cess of  Major-General  Sullivan  and  the  troops 
under  his  command,  against  the  Senecas  and  other 
tribes  of  the  Six  Nations,  as  a  just  and  necessary 
punishment  for  their  wanton  depredations,  their 
unparalleled  and  innumerable  cruelties,  and  their 
deafness  to  all  entreaties."  Congress,  October  14, 
1779,  adopted  strong  resolutions  of  thanks  to  Gen- 
eral Washington  for  ordering,  and  to  General  Sul- 
livan and  his  brave  officers  and  soldiers  for  effectu- 
ally executing,  the  expedition. 

This  was  General  Sullivan's  last  military  service. 
On  the  9th  of  November,  1779,  he  tendered  his 
resignation  to  Congress.  He  gave  as  the  reason, 
the  impairment  of  his  health  and  the  advice  of  his 
physicians.  It  is  not  unlikely,  however,  that  ill  treat- 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  47 

ment  which  he  had  received  from  Congress  and  its 
boards  may  have  made  his  position  far  from  agree- 
able. Perhaps,  also,  the  most  absolute  destitution 
of  his  family  affected  him.  He  had  told  his  agent 
early  in  the  war  not  to  demand  moneys  due  him 
which  were  out  upon  interest,  because  it  might 
work  hardship.  With  small  pay,  and  that  in  a 
depreciated  currency,  he  had  used  up  his  earlier 
accumulations  in  the  support  of  his  family  and  him- 
self. "  I  have  not  clothes  sufficient  for  another 
campaign,"  he  wrote  nearly  two  years  before,  "  nor 
will  my  pay  enable  me  to  purchase."  His  resigna- 
tion was  accepted  a  month  after  it  was  given, 
although  a  large  minority  desired  to  substitute 
leave  of  absence,  which  was  prevented  by  the  votes 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  A  vote  was  passed, 
presenting  him  the  thanks  of  Congress  for  his 
services. 

General  Sullivan  had  violent  enemies  in  Congress. 
It  was,  perhaps,  partly  due  to  his  impulsive  free- 
dom of  speech,  which  was  natural  in  view  of  his 
own  temperament  and  of  the  frequent  inefficiency 
of  that  body.  Soldiers  do  not  often  like  civilian 
management  of  military  affairs,  and  especially  of 
campaigns.  It  was  nothing  to  his  discredit  that 
some  of  these  men  disliked  him.  Manv  of  them 

tt 

had  tried  to  drive  from  the  army  General  Greene, 
than  whom  no  one  made  a  more  brilliant 
record.  A  large  number  were  inimical  to  Wash- 
ington himself,  whose  military  ability  John  Adams 
sharply  disparaged.  I  am  not  sure  but  that  sec- 
tional differences  affected  Sullivan's  position. 


48  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

There  were  at  that  period  boasts  which  have  been 
familiar  with  this  generation.  Sullivan  was  not 
the  man  to  endure  imputations  upon  New  England 
courage.  "  I  have  been  much  pleased  to  see  a  day 
approaching,"  he  wrote  to  Meshech  Weare,  Febru- 
ary 13, 1777, "  to  try  the  difference  between  Yankee 
cowardice  and  Southern  valor.  The  day,  or  rather 
the  days,  have  arrived."  He  insisted  that  the 
Northern  troops  were  the  strength  of  the  army. 
"All  the  general  officers  allow  them  to  be  the  best 
of  troops.  The  Southern  officers  and  soldiers  allow 
it  in  time  of  danger,  but  not  at  all  other  times." 
The  same  spirit  was  not  absent  from  Congress. 

Perhaps  some  members  of  Congress  had  not  for- 
gotten that  Generals  Sullivan,  Greene,  and  Knox 
had  once  sent  a  memorial  to  Congress  regarding 
the  expected  placing  over  them  of  a  Frenchman, 
who  was  not  considered  competent;  and  that  the 
demand  of  Congress  that  Washington  should  re- 
quire an  apology  for  its  insulted  dignity  had  been 
silently  ignored. 

But  "Washington,  to  whom  Sullivan  had  always 
been  an  attached  and  faithful  friend,  expressed  his 
feelings  and  opinions  in  a  letter  to  Sullivan,  when 
he  was  about  to  leave  the  service : 

"  I  flatter  myself  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to 
repeat  to  you  how  high  a  place  you  hold  in  my 
esteem.  The  confidence  you  have  experienced, 
and  the  manner  in  which  you  have  been  employed 
on  several  important  occasions,  testify  the  value  I 
set  upon  your  military  qualifications  and  the  regret 
I  must  feel  that  circumstances  have  deprived  the 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  49 

army  of  your  services.  The  pleasure  I  shall  always 
take  in  an  interchange  of  good  offices  in  whatever 
station  you  may  hereafter  be  placed  will  be  the  best 
confirmation  of  the  personal  regard  with  which  I 
have  been  and  am,  very  sincerely  and  truly,  dear 
sir,"  etc. 

With  the  record  of  John  Sullivan's  services 
before  us,  it  seems  strange  that  any  historian 
should  deny  his  military  capacity.  One  writer  has, 
however,  done  so.  An  examination  of  his  work 
shows  that  his  bitter  prejudices  are  not  confined  to 
Sullivan  alone.  Reasonless  partisanship  is  the 
habit  of  his  mind.  So  far  as  Sullivan  is  concerned, 
it  would  be  easy  to  show  that  the  writer  in  ques- 
tion omits  to  give  him  credit  for  military  service 
when  it  seems  to  have  required  an  effort  to  avoid 
it;  that  when  two  interpretations  are  possible,  he 
invariably  chooses  the  unfavorable  one;  and  that 
he  makes  statements  as  to  military  action  which 
can  be  prevented  from  being  stigmatized  as  un- 
truths only  by  attributing  them  to  an  obvious  inca- 
pacity to  understand  military  principles.  The  work 
of  that  writer  exhibits  equal  power  in  gorgeous 
rhetoric  and  unbounded  vituperation. 

A  careful  observer  of  Sullivan's  military  career 
will  find  that  he  was  a  proficient  student  in  military 
science  and  in  the  history  of  war;  that  he  was  pas- 
sionately fond  of  military  exercise,  in  the  simple 
parts  of  which  he  was  well  versed  in  his  youth; 
that  he  came  to  exhibit  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
what  was  required,  not  only  in  marches  and  in  for- 
tifications, but  also  in  the  selection  of  positions  for 


50  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

battle  and  in  the  disposition  of  troops  to  meet  the 
demand  of  the  hour;  that  he  was  fearless  of  danger 
and  inspired  enthusiasm  among  his  men;  that  upon 
the  field  he  never  lost  presence  of  mind  or  readiness 
of  command,  or  promptness  in  movements  to  meet 
instant  emergencies ;  and  that  he  was  entrusted  by 
"Washington  with  independent  operations  of  a  high 
order.  In  fact,  I  believe  we  find  but  one  instance 
of  any  battle  in  which  Washington  was  personally 
with  Sullivan's  division.  When  a  real  history  of 
the  War  of  the  Revolution  shall  be  written,  Sulli- 
van's position  as  a  soldier  will  not  depend  upon 
high-sounding  phrases  of  partisan  and  inflated  pre- 
judice. It  will  justify  the  opinion  of  George  Wash- 
ington. 

The  state  had  need  of  him.  In  the  spring  of 
1780,  the  President  of  the  Council  and  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  were  appointed  to  wait  upon  him  and 
give  the  congratulations  of  the  General  Court  at  his 
safe  return  and  recovery  of  health;  and  also  "give 
him  the  thanks  for  his  good  services."  It  followed 
this  expression  by  appointing  him,  June  21,  a  dele- 
gate to  Congress,  to  which  he  was  reappointed  Janu- 
ary 19,  1781.  When  he  thus  entered  Congress  with 
the  warm  friendship  of  Washington,  it  might  have 
been  a  moment  of  exultation.  But  he  was  too 
magnanimous  and  patriotic  to  cherish  grudges. 
Experienced,  able,  and  active,  he  was  remarkably 
useful.  In  November,  1780,  he  was  on  a  commit- 
tee to  draft  an  urgent  appeal  to  the  several  states 
for  renewed  help  to  the  cause.  In  consultation 
with  Washington  he  succeeded  in  carrying  through 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  51 

a  reorganization  of  the  army  departments,  the  sys- 
tem of  promotions,  and  the  establishment  of  honor- 
able positions  for  veteran  officers,  being  chairman  of 
the  committee  to  consult  with  Washington  upon 
this  important  subject.  He  procured  the  rescind- 
ing of  all  rules  which  allowed  others  than  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  or  heads  of  departments  to  grant 
furloughs.  He  was  on  the  committee  to  discuss  the 
question  of  clothing  for  the  soldiers.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  which,  in  1781,  having 
full  power  in  connection  with  Washington,  re- 
moved the  difficulties  with  the  Pennsylvania  line, 
which  threatened  the  destruction  of  the  army.  He 
favored  giving  greatly  increased  powers  to  the 
commander-in-chief,  as  a  military  necessity.  He 
favored  a  well-disciplined  army,  on  long  terms  of 
enlistment.  He  aided  in  having  his  old  comrade, 
General  Greene,  sent  to  command  in  the  South. 
He  supported  the  great  change  by  which  single 
secretaries  or  ministers  were  substituted  for  clumsy 
Congressional  boards,  in  the  case  of  foreign  rela- 
tions, finance,  and  war;  and  against  the  strenuous 
opposition  of  Samual  Adams,  a  member  of  one  of 
the  boards.  When  the  minister  of  finance  was  to 
be  chosen,  he  proposed  to  Washington  the  name  of 
Alexander  Hamilton  for  his  opinion.  Washington 
replied,  speaking  in  high  terms  of  Mr.  Hamilton  in 
general,  but  saying  that  he  had  not  conversed  with 
that  gentleman  on  questions  of  finance. 

When  the  election  took  place,  General  Sullivan 
wrote  to  Washington,  "After  I  wrote  I  found  the 
eyes  of  Congress  turned  upon  Robert  Morris  as 


52  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

financier.  I  did  not,  therefore,  nominate  Colonel 
Hamilton,  as  I  foresaw  it  wonld  be  a  vain  attempt." 
But  when  "Washington  became  president,  he  at 
once  verified  Sullivan's  instinct  by  placing  Hamil- 
ton at  the  head  of  the  treasury.  General  Sullivan 
was  chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee,  and  he 
sustained  Morris  in  the  creation  of  a  national  bank, 
of  which  gold  and  silver  should  be  the  basis.  He 
helped  frame  also  an  act  for  the  redemption  of  the 
depreciated  currency  at  a  fixed  ratio.  This  com- 
mittee had  to  consider  the  whole  condition  of  the 
finances,  and  recommend  a  reorganization  of  the 
system.  Its  reports  were  generally  accepted.  He 
was  on  the  committee  which  considered  the  whole 
question  of  the  Western  lands,  the  cession  of  which 
began  while  he  was  in  Congress.  Early  in  1781 
he  was  upon  a  committee  "  to  devise  ways  and 
means  to  carry  on  the  present  campaign."  He 
favored  trusting  the  eminent  commissioners  who 
were  appointed  to  negotiate  a  peace,  without  strict 
instructions.  Such  were  some  of  the  services  ren- 
dered during  his  continuance  in  Congress,  from 
which  he  retired  by  his  own  act. 

Returning,  from  necessity,  to  professional  life, 
General  Sullivan  was  still  called  to  office.  He  was 
appointed  attorney-general  June  24,  1782,  and 
held  the  office  until  he  declined  a  reelection  in 
February,  1786,  being  in  that  year  a  candidate  for 
another  office  to  which  he  was  elected.  It  is 
remarkable  that  his  distinguished  son,  George 
Sullivan,  who  also  was  sent  to  Congress,  held  the 
same  office  for  twenty-one  years,  and  that  John 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  53 

Sullivan,  son  of  George,  an  equally  brilliant  orator, 
was  also  attorney-general  for  thirteen  years,  dying 
in  office.1  In  1782  he  was  delegate  from  Durham 
to  the  Constitutional  Convention,  which  was  in 
existence  from  1781  to  1783,  and  whose  third 
attempt  to  make  a  constitution  satisfactory  to  the 
people  was  successful. 

In  1781  to  1782  there  were  many  signs  of  trouble 
in  the  towns  bordering  on,  or  near  to,  the  Connecti- 
cut river.  New  Hampshire  had  exercised  jurisdic- 
tion over  those  towns,  and  the  Legislature  voted  to 
raise  one  thousand  men  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing 
its  claims;  and  January  11, 1782,  it  appointed  Gen- 
eral Sullivan  to  command  this  force.  It  does  not 
appear  that  anything  more  became  needed  than  the 
authority  of  the  courts,  which  was  finally  estab- 
lished. The  crisis,  perhaps,  came  at  Keene  in 
October  of  that  year,  when  the  firmness  of  the 
court  and  the  marked  power  of  Sullivan  (then 
holding  the  office  of  attorney-general)  over  men 
were  completely  successful.  Doubtless  his  influ- 
ence over  many  of  his  old  companions  in  arms  had 
much  to  do  with  the  result  when  he  assumed  the 
old  sword,  which  he  was  now  entitled  again  to 
wear,  by  virtue  of  the  vote  of  the  General  Court — 
as  recorded  by  Plumer. 

In  1783  General  Sullivan  was  made  the  first 
president  of  the  New  Hampshire  branch  of  the 
Cincinnati,  of  which  "Washington  was  president- 
general.  He  was  the  first  Grand  Master  of  the 

1  Two  sons  of  the  last  named  reside  in  Boston:  John,  who  served  as 
surgeon  in  the  late  War  of  the  Rebellion,  and  Edward,  a  lawyer. 
5 


54  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

New  Hampshire  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  Masons, 
chosen  July  8,  1789,  having  been  received  in  St. 
John's  Lodge,  Portsmouth,  N".  H.,  March  19,  1767, 
and  made  a  Master  Mason  December  28,  1768. 

In  1784  he  was  appointed  major-general  of  the 
militia,  and  served  until  he  became  president.  He 
entered  into  the  duties  of  this  office  with  great 
energy,  issued  an  address  to  the  people,  in  behalf 
of  an  active  interest  in  developing  the  system,  and 
published  a  volume  of  regulations  for  the  forces 
of  the  state;  and  he  took  frequent  occasions  to 
review  the  different  corps. 

In  1785  he  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  from 
Durham.  He  was  speaker  of  the  House  in  that 
year,  and  also  a  member  of  the  Council,  which 
offices  were  then  not  incompatible.  His  participa- 
tion in  legislation  is  found  in  almost  every  measure 
of  importance.1  Impost  duties,  post  roads,  taxes, 
military  organization,  the  relation  of  the  state  to 
the  general  government,  the  revision  of  laws,  are 
some  of  the  subjects  in  which  he  helped  to  shape 
legislation. 

In  1786  he  was  again  chosen  speaker,  but  served 
only  two  days,  as  he  was  chosen  president  of  the 
state,  as  the  governor  was  then  designated;  and  thus 
became  "captain-general,  commander-in-chief,  and 
admiral"  of  the  army  and  navy  of  New  Hampshire, 
titles  which,  I  believe,  His  Excellency  still  bears. 

ll  must  express  my  great  indebtedness,  and  the  indebtedness  of  the 
people  of  this  state,  to  Hon.  A.  S.  Batchellor,  for  his  skill  in  compiling 
and  editing  the  State  Records,  whose  publication  he  superintends. 
The  volumes,  as  prepared  by  him  are  indispensable  to  a  student  of 
New  Hampshire  history. 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  55 

It  was  during  this  first  year  of  his  administration 
that  an  insurrectionary  spirit  showed  itself  in  New 
Hampshire,  coincident  with  what  was  called  Shays's 
Rebellion  in  Massachusetts.  There  were,  undoubt- 
edly, distressed  conditions  among  the  people.  The 
exhaustion  caused  by  the  War  of  the  Revolution  had 
not  ceased.  The  consequences  of  the  terribly  depre- 
ciated continental  currency  necessarily  affected  the 
public  welfare  for  many  years.  President  Sullivan 
had,  as  chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee  in  Con- 
gress, regarded  gold  and  silver  as  the  necessary  basis 
of  all  currency.  But  whether  so  or  not,  it  was  his  duty 
to  preserve  public  order.  Classes  of  people  bit- 
terly complained.  "  The  public  securities,"  they 
said,  "  were  engrossed  by  rich  speculators,  and  the 
poor  were  distressed  for  the  means  of  paying  their 
taxes  and  their  private  debts.  The  cry  for  paper 
money  was  incessant."  Such  was  the  record  of 
Jeremy  Belknap.  "  They  raised  a  cry  for  paper 
money,  an  equal  distribution  of  property,  and  a 
release  from  debt." 

"When  the  legislature  was  in  session  at  Exeter, 
September  20,  1785,  a  tolerably  well  organized 
company  of  several  hundred  armed  men  surrounded 
the  building  where  the  legislature  was  in  session, 
to  coerce  that  body  into  compliance  with  their 
demands.  As  many  as  pleased  entered  the  house, 
and  demanded  action  according  to  their  request. 
The  president,  who  in  those  days  presided  over  the 
Council,  which  was  practically  the  Senate,  explained 
the  situation  in  a  calm  and  dignified  speech,  and 
informed  the  mob  that  no  action  whatever  would 


56  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

be  taken  under  such  an  attempt  to  coerce.  Toward 
night  the  legislature  requested  President  Sullivan 
to  provide  for  its  defense  and  liberty.  Samuel 
Adams,  son  of  Col.  Winborne  Adams,  who  had 
been  a  lieutenant  under  General  Sullivan  in  his 
Iroquois  campaign,  was  now  one  of  his  military 
staff.  When  morning  dawned  it  found  several 
companies  of  militia  infantry,  a  squadron  of  cavalry 
and  some  light  artillery  drawn  up  in  proper  order 
for  action.  The  insurgents,  at  first  threatening  to 
resist,  were  dispersed  by  a  section  of  the  light 
horsemen.  Some  of  the  leaders  were  arrested  and 
bound  over  to  appear  in  court.  The  policy  of  the 
president,  however,  having  maintained  the  laws, 
secured  lenity,  and  all  the  misguided  men  were 
eventually  discharged.  "  Our  General  Sullivan," 
wrote  Belknap,  in  one  of  his  letters, "  behaved  with 
great  prudence,  firmness,  and  despatch,  and  suc- 
cess crowned  his  exertions." 

General  Sullivan  was  again  chosen  president  in 
1787.  It  was  during  this  year  of  administration 
that  he  wrote  to  Belknap  as  follows : 

"  The  credit  of  the  state,  which  has  been  sunk  to 
the  lowest  mark,  has  now  arisen  to  a  height  almost 
beyond  conception.  Our  deranged  finances  are 
restored  to  order;  and  orders  upon  our  treasury 
now  pass  equal  with  silver  and  gold.  This,  sir, 
was  owing  to  some  acts  which  I  procured  to  be 
passed,  but  not  without  great  opposition,  the  good 
effects  of  which  are  now  sensibly  felt,  and  begin  to 
be  universally  acknowledged." 

At  the  election  in  1788,  there  was  no  choice  of 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  57 

president  by  the  people,  and  John  Langdon,  who 
had  previously  been  a  candidate,  was  chosen  by  the 
Senate.  General  Sullivan,  however,  represented 
Durham  in  the  Assembly,  and  was  unanimously 
chosen  speaker.  The  loss  of  the  higher  office  had 
also  been  far  more  than  made  up  by  his  choice  to 
still  another;  and  perhaps  the  fact  of  the  second 
influenced  the  people  to  divide  their  honors. 

On  the  13th  of  February,  1788,  a  convention  of 
deputies  met  at  Exeter  to  consider  whether  !N"ew 
Hampshire  would  ratify  the  proposed  constitution 
of  the  United  States.  It  was  a  meeting  of  vast 
importance.  The  hopes  and  fears  as  to  the  adop- 
tion of  that  constitution  had  been  alternating  in 
many  states.  In  that  convention,  John  Sullivan 
represented  the  town  of  Durham,  and  he  was 
chosen  its  president. 

"  The  convention,  when  assembled  to  the  amount 
of  one  hundred,"  wrote  Sullivan  in  a  private  letter,1 
"  stood  thus :  Seventy  against,  and  thirty  for,  the 
new  constitution.  However,  the  good  cause  gained 
ground,  and  when  we  adjourned,  I  think  that 
a  majority  was  in  favor;  but  as  about  thirty 
who  were  bound  by  instruction  to  vote  against  the 
plan,  had,  through  the  preaching  of  Doctor  Lang- 
don and  others,  become  real  converts,  it  was 
thought  best  to  have  an  adjournment  that  they 
might  go  home  and  obtain  liberty  to  act  their  own 
judgment,  and  I  doubt  not  but  it  will  then  be 
received  by  a  large  majority." 

JBelknap  papers,  Mass.  Hist.  Society's  Proceedings.     Sixth  series, 
Vol.  IV. 


58  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

Mr.  Joseph  B.  Walker,  in  his  history  of  the 
North  Church,  in  Concord,  where  it  held  its  second 
session,  well  says  that  the  "  Federal  trio,"  John 
Sullivan,  John  Langdon,  and  Samuel  Livermore, 
could  not  be  equaled  by  any  other  three  members 
of  the  convention.  He  gives  to  Mr.  Livermore, 
then  chief  justice,  the  credit,  and  doubtless  cor- 
rectly, of  being  the  most  powerful  man  in  argu- 
ment upon  the  floor.  The  personal  character  and 
sound  judgment  of  Mr.  Langdon  (who  was  soon 
to  be  sent  to  the  United  States  Senate,  and  become 
the  first  presiding  officer  of  that  body)  must  have 
given  him  a  strong  influence.  To  General  Sulli- 
van's enthusiastic  intensity  of  purpose,  was  doubt- 
less added  his  skill  in  public  address,  and  his 
remarkable  ability  in  political  administration. 
"When,  after  reassembling,  the  vote  was  car- 
ried, June  21,  1788,  fifty-seven  in  favor  to  forty- 
seven  against,  it  was  seen  that  each  of  these  men 
had  been  indispensable.  But  General  Knox,  then 
Secretary  of  War,  wrote  to  Sullivan  from  ]STew 
York :  "  Your  friends  attribute  much  of  the  suc- 
cess in  your  state  to  your  unremitted  exertions, 
and  hope  that  your  country  will  eminently  reward 
your  patriotism." 

To  sit  in  that  chair  and  declare  that  vote,  car- 
ried so  largely  by  his  own  personal  influence, 
might  almost  be  regarded  as  the  crowning  privi- 
lege of  the  life  of  John  Sullivan.  To  make  the 
new  constitution  operative,  required  the  assent  of 
nine  states.  There  were  division  and  doubt  in 
many  parts  of  the  land.  If  the  proposal  should 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  59 

fail,  the  country  would  be  thrown  back  into  the 
helplessness  of  the  old  confederation.  But  New 
Hampshire,  in  which  had  been  the  first  armed 
resistance  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  and  which 
had  been  the  first  of  the  provinces  to  establish  a 
state  government,  now  made  the  ninth  state.  By 
that  act,  the  constitution  was  made  operative,  and 
the  United  States  came  into  being.  No  mind  could 
then  have  prophesied  the  future  growth,  prosperity, 
and  glory  of  the  great  Republic.  But  it  was  a 
sublime  moment  when  that  vote  was  declared. 
John  Sullivan  may  have  been  pardoned  if  the 
words  of  Livius,  in  1777,  had  come  back  to  his 
mind :  "  You  were  the  first  man  in  active  rebellion, 
and  drew  with  you  the  province  you  live  in.  You 
will  be  one  of  the  first  sacrifices  to  the  resentment 
and  justice  of  government."  And  now  he  was  privi- 
leged to  declare,  as  the  chosen  leader  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, the  one  specific  vote  which  created  a  nation. 

At  the  first  election  for  president  of  the  United 
States,  General  Sullivan  was  chosen  one  of  the 
electors  for  the  state  of  New  Hampshire.  He  had 
thus  the  privilege  of  casting  his  vote  for  his  old 
commander  in  the  field,  whom  he  had  always  loved, 
and  who  had  always  trusted  him. 

At  the  next  election,  that  of  1789,  he  was  again 
chosen  president  of  the  state.  He  served  during 
his  year,  and  at  its  close  the  legislature  appointed 
a  committee  "  to  return  the  thanks  of  the  General 
Court  to  his  Excellency  President  Sullivan  for  his 
services  while  president  of  this  state." l 

1  Harvard  College  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  master  of  arts 
in  1780,  and  Dartmouth  that  of  doctor  of  laws  in  1789. 


60  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

But  before  the  expiration  of  the  year,  President 
Washington  had  appointed  him  the  first  judge  of 
the  United  States  District  Court  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. The  personal  letter  of  Washington,  dated 
September  30, 1789,  enclosing  the  commission,  says, 
"  In  my  nomination  of  persons  to  fill  office  in  the 
judicial  department,  I  have  been  guided  by  the 
importance  of  the  object,  considering  it  of  the  first 
magnitude  and  the  pillar  upon  which  our  political 
fabric  must  rest.  I  have  endeavored  to  bring  into 
the  high  offices  of  its  administration  such  charac- 
ters as  will  give  stability  and  dignity  to  our  national 
government." 

Such  was  Washington's  estimate  of  John  Sul- 
livan. 

He  died  in  this  his  last  public  office,  but  he  had 
not  long  been  upon  the  bench  when  his  health 
began  to  fail.  The  old  hardships  had  left  their 
impress.  Not  only  did  his  physical  strength  decay, 
but  his  mental  powers  also  failed.  The  president, 
however,  would  not  have  him  removed  from  office, 
although  for  two  or  three  years  he  was  unable  to 
attend  to  his  duties. 

I  would  gladly  recall  traditions  which  have 
floated  down  through  the  century,  of  John  Sulli- 
van's dashing  boldness  and  almost  personal  reck- 
lessness in  the  field,  which  won  the  admiration  of 
his  soldiers,  such  as  have  come  to  us  from  our 
ancestors  who  served  in  the  army  of  the  Revolu- 
tion,— as  did  four  of  mine;  of  the  brilliancy  in 
speech  which  perhaps  came  with  his  Irish  blood; 
of  his  generous  and  perhaps  lavish  kindness  to 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  61 

those  who  were  in  need;  of  his  fidelity  to  his 
friends;  of  the  personal  magnetism  which  swayed 
men,  and  especially  the  common  people.  But  these 
things  do  not  come  into  the  purpose  for  which  I 
gratefully  acknowledge  the  honor  given  to  me  by 
the  Governor  and  Council  of  our  state. 

On  the  23d  of  January,  1795,  he  died  in  his  home 
on  yonder  terraced  slope  which  reaches  down  to 
the  river,  where  he  loved  to  see  the  ebb  and  flow 
of  the  tides,  which  went  and  came  at  the  will  of  the 
ocean., 

It  was  a  hundred  years  ago,  but  where  we  stand 
has  a  double  history.  Two  hundred  years  ago,  in 
a  warm  morning  of  July  18,  1694,  the  musket  and 
the  tomahawk  of  the  savage  did  its  deadly  work 
around  these  falls  and  up  and  down  the  sides  of 
this  now  tranquil  river.  Sorrow  and  anguish  were 
in  almost  every  home,  for  on  that  terrible  day 
nearly  one  hundred  persons  had  been  killed  within 
the  sound  of  a  musket  shot  from  where  we  stand, 
or  led  into  hopeless  captivity  in  Canada.  Such  was 
the  discipline  which  prepared  the  generations  here 
for  the  stern  war  of  the  Revolution. 

On  yonder  beautiful  height,  within  the  stone  wall 
and  its  iron  gate,  in  the  family  burying-ground 
which  lies  in  the  rich  mowing  land,  are  various 
graves.  Inscriptions  mark  the  resting-place  of  the 
emigrant,  who  lived  to  the  age  of  one  hundred  and 
four,  and  of  his  wife  Margery.  But  there  are  also 
found  the  simple  stones  which  stand  at  the  graves 
of  John  Sullivan,  and  Lydia,  his  wife.  These 
stones  are  amply  sufficient  for  their  purpose.  But 


62  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

our  state  needed  to  erect  its  own  memorial  to  the 
patriot,  soldier,  and  statesman.  It  has  wisely 
placed  that  memorial  where  youth  shall  see  it,  and 
upon  the  spot  connected  by  its  history  with  the 
opening  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  state 
has  delayed  for  nearly  one  hundred  years,  but  if,  as 
tradition  says,  the  burial  in  that  winter  day  was  so 
quiet  and  simple  that  people  wondered,  the  gover- 
nor, who  is  in  the  line  which  follows,  now  comes  in 
the  name  of  the  state  and  by  its  order,  to  express 
the  love  and  honor  in  which  New  Hampshire  has 
always  held  the  memory  of  John  Sullivan. 

The  exercises  of  the  morning  in  the  tent  were 
immediately  followed  by  the  solemn  and  impressive 
ceremony  of  dedication  by  the  Masonic  brotherhood. 
The  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Hampshire  was  ably 
represented  by  M.  W.  Grand  Master  Charles  Car- 
roll Hayes  of  Manchester;  R.  "W.  Deputy  Grand 
Master  Henry  Augustus  Marsh  of  Nashua;  R.  W. 
Senior  Grand  Warden  John  McLane  of  Milford; 
R.  W.  Junior  Grand  "Warden  George  Isaac  McAl- 
lister of  Manchester;  R.  ~W.  Grand  Treasurer  Jo- 
seph Kidder  of  Manchester;  R.  W.  Grand  Secretary 
George  Perley  Cleaves  of  Concord;  R.  W.  Grand 
Chaplain  Rev.  Daniel  C.  Roberts,  D.  D.,  of  Con- 
cord; "W.  Senior  Grand  Deacon  Bradford  S.  King- 
man  of  Newmarket;  W.  Junior  Grand  Deacon 
Henry  B.  Quinby  of  Laconia;  "W.  Grand  Marshal 
Charles  C.  Danforth  of  Concord;  "W.  Grand  Pur- 
suivants Joseph  E.  Knight  of  Exeter,  and  Chan- 
ning  Folsom  of  Dover. 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  63 

THE    CEREMONT. 

Grand  Master. — From  time  immemorial  it  has 
been  the  custom  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  when 
requested  so  to  do,  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  pub- 
lic edifices,  especially  those  designed  for  the  wor- 
ship of  God,  and  to  consecrate  with  appropriate 
ceremonies  such  structures  as  are  of  general  public 
interest  to  the  communities  where  the  same  are 
located.  We  have  therefore  accepted  the  invitation 
to  dedicate  this  monument,  and,  in  assuming  the 
duty  imposed  upon  us,  we  may  show  our  respect  to 
the  state,  and  our  appreciation  of  the  obligations 
we  are  under  to  the  man  whose  memory  we  have 
assembled  to  honor.  Among  the  first  lessons  taught 
by  our  ritual  are  dependence  of  the  creature  upon 
the  Creator,  and  the  duty  of  imploring  His  assist- 
ance in  all  our  undertakings.  In  obedience  to 
those  instructions,  let  us  join  with  our  Grand  Chap- 
lain in  invoking  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  exer- 
cises in  which  we  are  about  to  engage. 

Prayer  by  the  Grand  Chaplain,  Kev.  Daniel  C. 
Koberts,  D.  D.: 

"  Supreme  Architect  of  the  Universe,  thou  dost 
build  into  the  walls  of  the  holy  temple,  wherein  thy 
presence  dwells,  the  lives  of  thy  servants  whom 
thou  hast  endowed  with  light  and  leading. 

Squared  by  the  square  of  virtue,  polished  by  the 
grand  disciplines  of  arduous  life,  upright  in  the 
nobility  of  a  righteous  manhood,  and  tried  by  the 
plumb-line  of  rectitude  and  truth,  they  stand,  stal- 


64  DEDICATION  OF   THE 

wart  and  true,  on  the  level  of  the  great  brotherhood 
of  the  servants  of  God. 

We  praise  thy  holy  name  with  thankful  hearts, 
because  thou  hast  wrought,  by  the  hands  of  thy 
servant  whom  we  commemorate  to-day,  and  his 
comrades,  wise  and  brave,  to  create  and  establish  a 
nation  consecrated  to  liberty,  justice,  and  equal 
rights.  Give  us  grace  and  light  to  follow  in  their 
footsteps,  to  take  up,  in  our  day  and  generation, 
the  burden  and  the  duty  bequeathed  to  us  by  our 
fathers,  along  with  the  blessing  of  freedom.  May 
no  injustice  or  unrighteousness  tarnish  the  splen- 
dor of  the  name  of  our  country,  or  the  fame  of  our 
heroic  sires.  May  this  massive  witness  of  our 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  freedom,  justice,  and  truth, 
which  we  dedicate  in  thy  name  and  presence,  to 
the  glory  of  God,  and  the  sacred  memory  of  our 
illustrious  brother,  stand,  a  monument  and  testi- 
mony to  the  fidelity  of  one  man  to  the  loftiest 
principles  of  political  and  military  virtue,  and  to 
the  consecration  of  each  oncoming  generation  to 
the  glory  of  thy  name,  the  honor  of  our  country, 
and  the  brotherhood  of  man. 

May  the  society  of  Free  Masons,  which  crowns 
this  work  to-day,  remain  steadfast  and  true,  dedi- 
cated to  righteousness,  justice,  freedom,  and  love, 
and  consecrated  as  thy  holy  temple  on  the  heights 
of  Zion  was  consecrated,  by  the  presence  of  Him 
whose  name  is  life,  whose  inefiable  glory  dwelt  in 
glorious  light  between  the  cherubim. 

We  ask  these  blessings  in  the  name  of  David's 
Son  and  David's  Lord.  Amen." 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  65 

Grand  Master. — Brother  Deputy  Grand  Master, 
"What  is  the  proper  jewel  of  your  office? 

Deputy  Grand  Master. — The  square. 

Grand  Master. — What  does  it  teach? 

Deputy  Grand  Master. — To  square  our  actions  by 
the  square  of  virtue,  and  by  it  we  prove  our  work. 

Grand  Master. — Apply  your  jewel  to  this  monu- 
ment, and  make  report. 

Deputy  Grand  Master. — The  work  is  square. 
The  craftsmen  have  done  their  duty. 

Grand  Master. — Brother  Senior  Grand  Warden, 
what  is  the  jewel  of  your  office? 

Senior  Grand  Warden. — The  level. 

Grand  Master. — What  does  it  teach? 

Senior  Grand  Warden. — The  equality  of  all 
men,  and  by  it  we  prove  our  work. 

Grand  Master. — Apply  your  jewel  to  this  monu- 
ment, and  make  report. 

Senior  Grand  Warden. — The  work  is  level. 
The  craftsmen  have  done  their  duty. 

Grand  Master. — Brother  Junior  Grand  Warden, 
what  is  the  jewel  of  your  office? 

Junior  Grand  Warden. — The  plumb. 

Grand  Master. — What  does  it  teach? 

Junior  Grand  Warden. — To  walk  uprightly  be- 
fore God  and  man,  and  by  it  we  prove  our  work. 

Grand  Master. — Apply  your  jewel  to  this  monu- 
ment, and  make  report. 

Junior  Grand  Warden. — The  work  is  plumb. 
The  craftsmen  have  done  their  duty. 

The  Grand  Master,  striking  the  monument  three 
tunes  with  the  gavel,  said: 


66  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

"  "Well  made,  well  proved,  true  and  trusty.  This 
undertaking  has  been  conducted  and  completed  by 
the  craftsmen  according  to  the  grand  plan,  in 
peace,  harmony,  and  brotherly  love." 

The  Deputy  Grand  Master  received  from  the 
Grand  Marshal  the  vessel  of  corn,  and,  pouring  the 
corn,  said: 

"May  the  health  of  the  community  which  has 
executed  this  undertaking  be  preserved,  and  may 
the  Supreme  Grand  Architect  bless  and  prosper  its 
labors." 

The  Grand  Marshal  presented  the  cup  of  wine  to 
the  Senior  Grand  Warden,  who  poured  the  wine, 
saying: 

"May  plenty  be  vouchsafed  to  the  people  of  this 
state,  and  may  the  blessing  of  the  Bounteous  Giver 
of  all  things  attend  all  its  philanthropic  and  patri- 
otic undertakings." 

The  Grand  Marshal  presented  the  cup  of  oil  to 
the  Junior  Grand  Warden,  who  poured  the  oil,  say- 
ing: 

*'  May  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  world  preserve 
this  people  in  peace,  and  grant  to  them  the  enjoy- 
ment of  every  blessing." 

The  Grand  Chaplain  pronounced  the  following 
invocation : 

"  May  corn,  wine,  and  oil,  and  all  the  necessaries 
of  life  abound  among  men  throughout  the  world; 
and  may  this  structure  long  remain  in  the  beauty 
and  strength  of  the  brotherly  love  for  the  departed, 
to  whose  memory  it  has  now  been  consecrated." 

Grand  Master. — Brother  Grand  Marshal,  you 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  67 

will  make  proclamation  that  this  monument  has 
been  duly  consecrated  in  accordance  with  ancient 
form  and  usage. 

Grand  Marshal. — In  the  name  of  the  Most 
Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire,  I  now  proclaim  that  the  monument 
here  erected  by  the  state  has  this  day  been  found 
square,  level,  and  plumb,  true  and  trusty,  and  con- 
secrated according  to  the  ancient  forms  of  Masons. 

This  proclamation  is  made  from  the  East,  the 
West,  the  South, — once,  twice,  thrice.  All  inter- 
ested will  take  due  notice  thereof. 

ADDRESS  OF   CHARLES    C.  HAYES,  THE  M.  W.  GRAND 

MASTER. 

Having  accepted  the  joint  invitation  from  the 
Governor  and  Council  and  the  town  of  Durham, 
we  have  assembled  to-day,  on  this  memorable  occa- 
sion, as  officers  of  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand 
Lodge,  representing  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Fraternity  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  in  New 
Hampshire,  to  dedicate,  according  to  ancient  form 
and  custom,  this  monument  erected  by  the  state 
and  town  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  one  of  the 
great  heroes  in  the  early  history  of  our  state  and 
country.  Fully  appreciating  the  great  honor  which 
was  conferred  by  this  invitation,  I  desire,  in  behalf 
of  the  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  and  the  entire 
Masonic  fraternity  of  New  Hampshire,  to  express 
our  pleasure  and  our  sincere  thanks  for  the  privi- 
lege of  being  present  at  this  time,  and  for  the 
opportunity  of  performing  the  solemn  and  impres- 


68  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

sive  ceremony  of  our  order.  It  is  not  only  proper, 
but  eminently  fitting  that  Masons  should  perform 
this  duty,  and  I  feel  that  there  will  be  no  infringe- 
ment of  the  rules  of  propriety  when  I  say  that  no 
other  order  could  or  should  have  been  invited  to 
perform  this  work,  for  the  reason  that  the  man  in 
whose  honor  this  granite  shaft  has  been  erected 
was  a  prominent  and  distinguished  Mason.  His 
love  for  the  order,  and  his  recognized  abilities 
caused  the  brethren  to  confer  upon  him  the  high- 
est honor  in  their  power,  by  choosing  him  as  the 
first  Grand  Master  of  Masons  in  New  Hampshire. 
He  was  active  and  earnest  in  the  cause  of  Masonry 
because  he  thoroughly  and  conscientiously  believed 
in  its  principles  and  was  always  ready  to  do  his 
part  in  binding  together,  with  the  golden  chain  of 
brotherly  love  and  affection,  the  God-fearing  and 
liberty-loving  men  of  his  time  and  generation. 

Like  George  Washington  and  nearly  all  of  the 
patriots  and  great  leaders  of  the  Revolutionary 
period,  he  was  a  Mason  because  love  of  country 
and  the  principles  of  Freemasonry  are  inseparable. 
"When  we  read  the  history  of  his  life,  and  find  that 
he  possessed  all  the  attributes  of  a  just  and  up- 
right man,  one  who  was  true  to  himself  and  true 
to  his  country,  working  always  for  that  which  was 
best,  it  would  have  been  strange  indeed  had  he 
not  sought  a  Masonic  lodge,  knocked  at  the  door, 
passed  within  the  portals,  and  in  due  time  been 
able  to  claim  the  proud  title  of  Master  Mason.  He 
was  not  only  distinguished  as  a  Mason,  but  as  a 
soldier,  jurist,  and  statesman,  whose  life  and  deeds 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  69 

form  a  bright  page  in  the  history  of  our  beloved 
state  and  country,  and  we  are  proud  to  claim  him 
as  a  New  Hampshire  man.  He  honored  the  state 
and  the  state  honored  him.  He  honored  Masonry 
and  was  honored  by  Masonry. 

As  we  behold  this  monument,  cut  from  the  gran- 
ite quarries  of  our  own  state,  plain,  yet  solid  and 
substantial,  typical  of  the  life  and  character  of  the 
man  in  whose  honor  it  has  been  erected,  we  are 
reminded  of  the  deeds  of  valor  and  heroism  per- 
formed by  John  Sullivan  and  his  loyal  associates, 
thereby  making  it  possible  for  us  to  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  a  free  and  independent  people.  His 
life,  his  character,  and  his  fame  should  be  an  inspi- 
ration to  the  youth  of  the  present  day,  and  should 
teach  them  to  love  their  country,  to  maintain  and 
support  its  free  institutions,  and  to  defend  its  flag 
against  the  assault  of  any  and  all  enemies.  "  The 
lapse  of  time,  the  ruthless  hand  of  ignorance,  or  the 
devastations  of  war "  may  lay  waste  and  destroy 
this  monument  around  which  we  are  now  gathered, 
but  so  long  as  governments  shall  stand  and  history 
shall  be  read,  so  long  will  the  name  inscribed  on 
its  face  be  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  patriotic  peo- 
ple the  world  over.  All  honor  to  the  memory  of 
General  and  Brother  John  Sullivan. 

THE    AFTERNOON. 

The  exercises  were  continued  in  the  afternoon 
without  apparent  loss  of  interest.  It  was  a  Sulli- 
van day.  From  morning  until  evening  the  suc- 
cessive eulogies  were  spoken  with  the  force  of 

6 


70  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

conviction,  and  were  received  with  the  enthusiasm 
of  warm  approval.  In  complimentary  terms  the 
president  of  the  day  introduced  Amos  Hadley, 
Ph.  D.,  of  Concord,  president  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Historical  Society;  Hon.  William  E.  Chandler 
of  Concord,  United  States  senator;  Hon.  Henry 
"W.  Blair  of  Manchester,  ex-senator  and  representa- 
tive in  congress ;  ex-Governor  Frederick  Smyth  of 
Manchester;  ex-Governor  Benjamin  F.  Prescott  of 
Epping;  Hon.  John  C.  Linehan  of  Concord,  insur- 
ance commissioner;  Patrick  H.  Sullivan,  Esq.,  of 
Manchester;  and  Col.  Daniel  Hall  of  Dover.  The 
remarks  of  Governor  Prescott  and  Governor  Smyth 
were  extemporaneous,  and  only  a  portion  of  Gov- 
ernor Smyth's  address  has  been  preserved. 

MB.  HADLEY'S  ADDRESS. 

The  New  Hampshire  Historical  Society,  which  I 
have  the  honor  of  representing  on  this  occasion, 
has  alway  smanifested  a  duly  sensitive  interest  in 
conserving  the  fair  fame  of  John  Sullivan.  Its 
remonstrances  against  historical  injustice  to  his 
memory  have  not  been  ineffectual  in  rectifying 
errors,  which,  it  may  be  hoped,  will  not  be  per- 
petuated by  future  historians. 

The  life  of  this  son  of  an  Irish  schoolmaster  was 
not  a  long  one,  running,  as  it  did,  only  to  midway 
in  the  fifties.  The  years  of  his  active  career  were 
only  thirty  ;  but  abundant  was  their  harvest  of 
achievement. 

At  the  age  of  twenty,  with  silver  or  gold  none, 
but  with  talents  ample  and  versatile  ;  with  a  gen- 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  71 

eral  education, — well-nigh  liberal, — conducted  by 
a  learned  father,  and  a  professional  one  directed  by 
a  Livermore,  John  Sullivan  entered  upon  the  prac- 
tice of  the  law,  here  in  storied  Durham,  and  within 
thirteen  years,  by  his  ability  and  eloquence,  won 
proud  eminence  at  the  bar,  with  a  consequent  gen- 
erous competence  of  estate. 

His  keen  sagacity,  his  independent  spirit,  his 
strong  and  resolute  manliness,  impelled  him,  from 
the  first,  to  resist,  by  word  and  deed,  the  growing 
tyranny  of  Britain,  and  made  him  foremost  in  the 
counsels  of  the  patriots.  At  thirty-three,  he  sits  in 
the  first  Continental  Congress ;  returning  thence, 
ready,  on  the  eventful  13th  of  December,  1774,  to 
lead  in  America's  first  overt  act  of  organized  armed 
resistance  to  England,  to  secure  for  Liberty's  use 
the  arms  and  ammunition  of  a  royal  fort  defiantly 
dismantled.  Again,  one  day  in  May,  1775,  his 
commanding  form  is  seen  erect  among  his  col- 
leagues of  the  Congress,  his  brilliant  black  eye 
flashing  brighter  in  the  excitement  of  debate,  his 
deep,  sweet,  flexible  voice  impressively  intoned,  as 
he  opposes  a  truckling  motion  for  a  second  address 
to  a  scornful  king,  "  in  a  strain  of  wit,  fluency,  and 
eloquence,  unusual  even  for  him,  filling  with  dis- 
may those  who  favored  reconciliation."  So  says 
John  Adams,  who  heard  him.  Oh,  for  a  Congres- 
sional Record  with  that  speech, — all  aglow  with 
"  liberty  or  death," — in  it !  But  alas  !  that  publi- 
cation is  of  modern  date,  and  we  must  flounder, 
instead,  through  the  interminable  quagmires  of 
tariff  reform  debate. 


72  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

Resistance,  resistance  even  to  war,  as  the  inev- 
itable solution  of  the  questions  at  issue,  had  long 
been  his  thought.  And  that  thought  tallied  with 
a  natural  military  taste,  which  led  the  active  and 
robust  young  man  to  acquaint  himself  with  the 
theory  and  practice  of  the  military  art.  He  saw 
security  for  the  people's  rights  in  military  training, 
and  he  practised  it  with  his  neighbors.  In  fine,  his 
example,  in  all  things,  was  an  inspiration  to  the 
maintenance  of  American  liberty,  at  all  hazards ; 
and  no  other  man  did  so  much  to  brace  up  New 
Hampshire  to  the  war  point  as  did  John  Sullivan. 

And  the  war  has  come.  The  same  Congress, 
that  with  divine  .foresight  has  made  "Washington 
commander-in-chief,  has  discerned  in  the  bold, 
sagacious,  and  eloquent  member  from  New  Hamp- 
shire, the  stuff  of  which  great  generals  are  made. 
Sullivan  will  honor  his  high  commission;  will  fully 
vindicate  the  trust  reposed  in  his  ability,  and  glori- 
ously fight  out  his  five  years  of  severe,  unremitting 
duty  in  arms.  He  will  be  found  in  the  Siege  of 
Boston,  alert  and  active,  on  the  American  left,  and 
nearest  the  enemy;  moreover,  he  shall,  within  ten 
days,  to  the  joyful  relief  of  Washington,  fill  with 
2,000  freshly  enlisted  men  of  New  Hampshire,  the 
dangerous  gap  in  the  investing  line,  left  by  Con- 
necticut troops,  whose  "  time  is  out."  Next  year, 
he  shall  save,  by  consummate  generalship,  the 
demoralized,  pestilence- stricken  army  of  Canada, 
in  face  of  an  exultantly  pursuing  foe ;  and,  later, 
he  shall,  by  timely  movements  and  effective  feats, 
help  Washington  retrieve  the  disastrous  year  by 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  73 

the  Christmas  victories  of  Trenton  and  Princeton. 
Again,  at  Brandywine  and  Germantown,  he  shall 
have  occasion, — and  will  gallantly  improve  it, — to 
manifest  his  characteristic  valor,  impetuous  but 
stubborn,  and  ready  to  breast  the  mightiest  swell 
of  fortune's  adverse  tide.  Next,  the  Rhode  Island 
expedition,  with  its  Battle  of  Butt's  Hill, — pro- 
nounced by  Lafayette,  "  the  best  fought  action  of 
the  war," — and  with  its  masterly  retreat,  shall  test, 
as  by  refining  fire,  the  pure  gold  of  military  capa- 
city. Finally,  it  seeming  good  to  Congress  and  the 
commander-in-chief  to  enforce  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Chemung  and  Genesee,  condign  reprisal  upon  the 
mischievous  Six  Nations,  and  their  worse  allies, 
the  Tories,  for  Wyoming's  dire  massacre,  and  like 
red-handed  deeds  of  savage  war,  the  execution  of 
this  purpose  shall  be  committed  to  our  well-tried 
New  Hampshire  general.  Though  the  under- 
taking be  tedious  and  difficult,  he  will  conduct  it 
to  complete  success,  in  an  arduous  campaign,  to  be 
his  last,  and  which  the  Empire  State  shall,  a  cen- 
tury later,  gratefully  commemorate  by  a  sightly 
monument,  reared  upon  the  battle-ground  of  New- 
town,  and  bearing  the  honored  name  of  Sullivan. 

Now,  in  a  touching  letter  to  Washington,  he  is 
compelled  to  say :  "  I  am  under  the  painful  neces- 
sity of  leaving  a  service  to  which  I  am  by  princi- 
ple and  interest  attached.  My  health  is  too  much 
impaired  to  be  recovered,  but  by  a  total  release 
from  business."  So  he  resigns  his  commission,  and 
returns  to  his  Durham  home,  and  to  his  family, 
which  has  always  had  its  share  of  his  affectionate 


74  DEDICATION  OF   THE 

solicitude.  He  brings  with  him  into  retirement 
the  affectionate  regrets  of  the  commander-in-chief, 
who  has  transmitted  him  these  simple,  but  price- 
less words  of  commendation :  "  I  flatter  myself  it 
is  unnecessary  for  me  to  repeat  to  you  how  high  a 
place  you  hold  in  my  esteem.  The  confidence  you 
have  experienced,  and  the  manner  in  which 
you  have  been  employed  on  several  important 
occasions,  testify  the  value  I  set  upon  your  military 
qualifications,  and  the  regret  I  must  feel  that 
circumstances  have  deprived  the  army  of  your 
services."  Before  such  witness,  how  are  aspersion 
and  detraction  shamed!  Washington's  never-fail- 
ing trust  and  ever  affectionate  respect  are,  of  them- 
selves, sufficient  to  prove  their  possessor's  title 
clear  to  proud  historic  praise;  and  Sullivan's  name 
does  belong,  of  right,  to  that  choice  list  of  eminent 
commanders  which  bears  such  other  names  as 
Greene  and  Knox,  Steuben  and  Stark. 

With  health  somewhat  repaired,  this  man  of 
versatile  capacity  might  not  be  spared  from  public 
service.  In  Congress  he  must  now  serve,  not  as 
six  years  before  he  had  done,  a  cluster  of  detached 
and  dependent  colonies,  but  a  confederation  of 
independent  states — even  a  young  nation,  helping 
by  wise  legislation,  war  and  financial,  to  lift  it  from 
weakness  into  strength.  There  was  need  of  clear- 
sighted, far-sighted,  and  steady-handed  statesman- 
ship. This  statesmanship  Sullivan  had,  as  he  then 
evinced,  as  well  as  later,  when  thrice  called  to  the 
executive  chair  of  New  Hampshire;  and,  later 
still,  when  he  lent  his  strong  influence  to  his  state's 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  75 

adoption  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States — 
the  adoption  which  gave  to  that  great  instrument 
of  Union,  force  and  effect  as  the  organic  law  of 
the  land. 

The  time  allotted  this  effort  does  not  allow  that 
specific  and  minute  characterization  which,  in 
general,  is  a  most  desirable  feature  of  biographic 
estimates. 

A  century,  lacking  but  a  few  weeks,  has  elapsed, 
since  all  that  was  mortal  of  our  hero  was  laid  away 
in  yon  modest  burial-ground  upon  the  hill  close  by 
the  house  in  which  he  dwelt.  His  life  and  charac- 
ter have  been  scanned,  scrutinized,  and  criticised, 
but  only,  in  result,  to  brighten  his  fame ;  for  it  is  a 
fame  born  of  genuine  merit, — a  very  diamond,  in 
whose  facets  friction  but  kindles  the  lustrous 
sparkle  of  precious  fire.  And  now,  at  last,  yon 
monument  has  risen  to  attest  the  perpetuity  of  that 
fame.  Such  structures  do  honor  to  the  living  as  well 
as  to  the  dead;  declaring  in  mute  eloquence,  as  they 
do,  that  the  virtues  of  the  dead  thus  remembered 
are  still  the  cherished  possession  of  the  living. 
Of  such  memorials,  New  Hampshire  has  none  too 
many.  Perhaps  another  like  this,  and  standing 
near,  may  some  time  rise  upon  Durham's  historic 
soil.  For,  in  view  of  the  devoted  friendship,  the 
identical  patriotism,  the  kindred  service,  and  the 
kindred  fame  of  the  heroic  law  student  and  his 
heroic  tutor,  it  would  seem,  indeed,  that  with 
beautiful  fitness,  twin  monuments  might  stand  in 
brotherly  proximity,  forever  sacred  to  the  memory 
of  ALEXANDER  SCAMMELL  and  JOHN  SULLIVAN. 


76  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

SENATOR  CHANDLER'S  ADDRESS. 

MR.  CHAIRMAN,  LADIES,  AND  GENTLEMEN: 
When  this  assembly  adjourned  this  forenoon  I 
thought  the  exercises  might  well  close.  After  the 
preliminary  proceedings  we  had  the  address  of  His 
Excellency  Governor  Smith — a  perfect  literary  and 
oratorical  jewel;  the  charming  and  appropriate 
poem  of  Mr.  O'Meara;  the  felicitous  oration  of  the 
orator  of  the  day,  Rev.  Dr.  Quint,  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  scholars,  historians,  and  divines  of 
whom  the  country  can  boast;  and  last,  the  impres- 
sive Masonic  ceremonies.  But  now  I  do  not  regret 
that  the  ceremonies  are  being  continued.  I  have 
already  been  delighted  with  the  admirable  sketch 
and  characterization  of  the  subject  of  the  day's 
exercises  by  the  eloquent  Mr.  Amos  Hadley,  repre- 
senting the  New  Hampshire  Historical  Society;  a 
gentleman  whom  I  remember  so  well  as  my  beloved 
tutor  in  early  days,  who  so  retains  his  youthful 
vigor  that  you  will  wonder  whether  I  went  to 
school  to  him  or  he  went  to  school  to  me;  and  so 
we  proceed  further  with  the  commemorative  dis- 
courses. 

A  nation  is  unfortunate  whose  beginning  is  desti- 
tute of  heroism.  Fortunate  is  a  nation  whose 
foundations  were  laid  by  exciting  deeds  of  patriot- 
ism performed  by  heroic  men.  This  was  the 
genesis  of  our  nation,  and  the  exploits  of  the 
Revolution,  and  the  careers  of  the  men  of  the 
Revolution,  give  a  rare  glory  to  the  beginning  of 
our  wonderful  republic. 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  77 

John  Sullivan  was  one  of  the  finest  characters 
of  the  Revolution.  His  life  and  services  have  been 
fittingly  described  to-day.  It  is  well  to  compare 
him,  without  disparagement  of  either,  with  his 
great  associate,  John  Stark.  Stark  was  a  great 
fighter,  and  the  battles  which  gave  him  fame  were 
critical  contests:  Bunker  Hill,  the  start  of  the 
Revolution;  Trenton,  "Washington's  winter  battle, 
that  revived  dying  hopes  and  saved  the  collapse  of 
the  Revolution;  Bennington,  which  resulted  in  the 
capture  of  Burgoyne  and  the  French  alliance. 
Stark  must  be  justly  considered  as  perhaps  the 
greatest  fighter,  next  to  Arnold  and  Wayne,  of  the 
War  of  Independence. 

But  Sullivan  was  a  great  general;  not  so  fortu- 
nate in  the  results  of  all  his  feats  of  arms,  but  his 
military  services, — at  Fort  William  and  Mary,  at  the 
siege  of  Boston,  in  the  Northern  army  on  the  Cana- 
dian border,  on  Long  Island,  where  he  was  cap- 
tured, at  the  capture  of  the  Hessians  at  Trenton, 
at  Princeton,  in  the  Staten  Island  raid,  on  the 
Brandywine  and  at  Germantown,  in  Rhode  Island, 
at  the  Battle  of  Butt's  Hill,  which  Lafayette  said 
was  the  best  fought  battle  of  the  Revolution,  and 
in  the  Iroquois  Indian  expedition, — give  him  endur- 
ing military  fame,  resting  upon  foundations  quite  as 
substantial  as  those  of  the  gallant  Stark. 

Besides,  he  was  great  in  other  spheres  of  duty 
and  action  ;  as  a  lawyer,  a  legislator,  a  statesman, 
a  governor,  and  a  judge,  he  was  far  above  medioc- 
rity ;  and  entitled,  as  a  man  of  many  abilities  of 
differing  character,  to  rank  among  the  very  great- 


78  DEDICATION   OF  THE 

est  men  of  the  Revolutionary  period.  New  Hamp- 
shire has  waited  too  long  before  erecting  this  monu- 
ment, and  granting  to  Sullivan  the  commemoration 
which  this  day's  exercises  will  aptly  furnish. 

It  was  my  good  fortune,  while  a  boy  studying 
law  with  Colonel  John  H.  George,  to  know  John 
Sullivan,  the  grandson  of  the  general,  and  the  son  of 
George  Sullivan.  The  grandfather  was  attorney- 
general  of  New  Hampshire  from  1782  to  1786  ;  the 
father,  for  about  a  year,  in  1805,  and  again  from 
1815  to  1835 ;  and  the  grandson,  from  1848  to 
1863 — the  office  being  forty  years  in  the  hands  of 
these  three  lawyers.  The  last  Attorney- General 
John  Sullivan  was  a  strong,  earnest  man,  and  an 
able  lawyer.  He  prepared  his  cases  with  care  and 
industry,  and  argued  them  with  intense  zeal  and 
earnestness.  He  impressed  me  as  a  vigorous,  pow- 
erful man  intellectually,  and,  judging  him  by  my 
later  observation  of  other  distinguished  men,  I 
realize  that  he  was  one  of  the  great  men  of  his  gen- 
eration, although,  like  Ira  Perley  and  many  other 
great  lawyers,  never  venturing  in  his  career  out- 
side his  chosen  profession  of  the  law.  While  he 
was  a  strong  man,  terribly  in  earnest,  yet  his  Irish 
blood  made  him  good-natured  and  witty,  and  I 
formed  for  him  a  warm  attachment.  One  of  his 
sons,  Edward,  I  have  seen  here  present  to-day, 
and  the  other,  Dr.  John  Sullivan,  resides  in  Bos- 
ton. "Whenever  these  sons  come  to  Durham  or  to 
New  Hampshire,  they  should  be  greeted  with  open 
arms  and  cordial  words  of  welcome. 

Truly  the  lives  of  these  three  great  men — John 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  79 

Sullivan,  George  Sullivan,  and  John  Sullivan — are 
all  happily  commemorated  by  the  eloquent  oration 
and  the  fervid  poem  of  to-day's  exercises,  and  by 
the  monument  which  the  state  has  erected  in  honor 
of  their  united  services  and  careers,  for  with  the 
lawyer  and  soldier,  statesman  and  patriot,  whose 
name  alone  is  inscribed  thereon,  are  also  embalmed 
the  achievements  of  the  son  and  grandson.  Their 
characters  may  well  be  contemplated  and  studied 
by  rising  generations  in  our  state  for  all  time, 
as  furnishing  the  highest  incentives  to  industry, 
integrity,  high  achievement,  and  unbounded  patri- 
otism. The  lustre  in  our  annals  of  the  gift  to  our 
early  glories  bestowed  by  Ireland  in  sending  to  us 
the  family  of  Sullivan,  will  never  be  obliterated  or 
forgotten. 

ADDRESS    OF    SENATOR  BLAIR. 

MR.  PRESIDENT  :  Nothing  like  justice  can  be 
done  in  ten  minutes  to  a  career  so  ample  and  illus- 
trious as  that  of  General  Sullivan. 

There  is  no  sphere  of  public  life  in  which  he  was 
not  eminent  nor  of  private  life  in  which  he  was  not 
influential  and  beloved. 

He  lived  but  fifty-four  years,  yet  so  early  did  the 
extraordinary  forces  within  him  ripen  into  harmo- 
nious and  efficient  activity  that  the  full  weight  of 
professional  and  domestic  responsibilities  was  upon 
him  even  before  he  had  attained  the  age  of  legal 
majority,  so  that,  notwithstanding  his  early  death, 
he  accomplished  the  work  of  a  much  longer  life  than 
is  usually  allotted  to  man,  and  by  his  great  services 


80  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

to  his  family,  his  state,  and  his  country,  he  fully 
proved  that,  regardless  of  mere  duration,  "  that  life 
is  long  which  answers  life's  great  end." 

When  we  consider  the  times  in  which  he  lived 
and  the  opportunities  which  he  possessed  to  pre- 
pare for  the  struggles  and  the  triumphs  before  him, 
we  are  the  more  struck  with  that  which  he  accom- 
plished and  confirmed  in  the  impression  that  what 
we  call  education  or  training  in  the  schools  is  of 
secondary  importance. 

There  is  nothing  creative  in  the  schools.  They 
make  the  most  of  that  which  nature  gives,  but  true 
genius  and  great  abilities  will  force  their  way 
through  and  over  all  obstacles  and  surmount  im- 
possibilities where  mere  training  and  instruction 
fall  down  helpless  and  despairing. 

Born  in  the  year  1740,  an  active  lawyer  and  a 
married  man  in  1760,  he  was  the  leading  patriot 
who,  with  congenial  spirits  and  worthy  comrades, 
in  the  year  1774  seized  Fort  William  and  Mary, — 
perhaps  the  initial  act  of  the  Revolutionary  War — 
captured  its  cannon  and  ammunition,  and  thereby 
made  it  possible  to  fight  the  Battle  of  Bunker 
Hill. 

Already,  by  his  knowledge  of  history,  of  the  laws, 
and  of  the  principles  of  liberty,  and  by  his  sweet  yet 
vehement  and  irresistible  eloquence  as  a  speaker, 
and  by  his  felicity  and  power  as  a  writer,  and 
by  his  active  and  practical  identification  with  the 
enlistment  and  discipline  of  the  military  forces  of 
the  state,  with  careful  study  of  the  principles  and 
history  of  the  art  of  war,  he  was  known  through- 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  81 

out  all  the  colonies  as  one  of  the  most  reliable  and 
important,  and,  if  I  may  so  speak,  many-sided  and 
all-round  patriots  among  those  wonderful  men  who 
were  rapidly  making  ready  for  the  great  events 
just  before  them. 

Whatever  was  necessary  to  be  done  to  overthrow 
tyranny  and  to  upbuild  liberty,  John  Sullivan  knew 
how  to  do,  and  he  went  ahead  and  did  it.  He  was 
truly  one  of  the  most  accomplished  men  of  his 
time. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  the  greatest  seven 
years  of  human  history,  either  in  camp,  on  field, 
or  in  senate,  he  was  continually  employed  in  the 
highest  service  of  his  country. 

The  whole  list  of  Revolutionary  worthies  does 
not  furnish  one  name  which,  on  the  whole,  shines 
more  resplendently  in  all  the  great  departments  of 
public  service  than  that  of  John  Sullivan.  If  there 
be  such  a  name,  declare  it ! 

Assailed  in  his  military  capacity  because  envy 
could  not  brook  his  superiority,  yet,  after  all,  the 
sharpest  and  most  malevolent  criticism  has  but 
shown  that  at  the  siege  of  Boston,  on  Long  Island, 
in  Canada,  at  Trenton  and  Princeton,  at  Brandy- 
wine  and  Germ  an  town,  in  Rhode  Island,  and  among 
the  savages  of  our  then  northwestern  frontier,  he 
was  always  the  equal  of  any  man  in  the  same  situa- 
tion ;  and  the  two  greatest  of  our  Revolutionary 
commanders — Washington  and  Greene — were  his 
stanchest  friends  and  strongest  defenders. 

Wherever  and  whenever  he  failed,  Washington 
and  Greene  and  any  other  man  would  have  failed 


82  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

and  did  fail,  simply  because  the  force  of  numbers 
and  insurmountable  obstacles  rendered  success  im- 
possible ;  while  his  gallantry  and  generalship  under 
difficulties  made  every  defeat  more  honorable  than 
victory. 

In  the  Continental  Congress  he  was  chairman  of 
the  Committee  upon  the  War,  and  was  a  leading 
member  of  many  others.  Hardly  a  man  in  the 
whole  body  was  more  universally  useful  and  influ- 
ential in  the  service  of  his  country. 

Retiring  at  length  to  private  life  with  health  and 
fortune  almost  wholly  lost  in  his  unsparing  devo- 
tion to  the  public  welfare,  he  was  not  permitted  to 
renew  his  strength  or  to  seek  the  restoration  of  his 
fortunes  in  the  walks  of  private  life  which  he  had 
always  found  lined  with  success,  and  profit,  and 
happiness ;  but  his  state  selected  him  for  the  almost 
forced  acceptance  of  her  varied  and  highest  service, 
while  his  last  days  were  fitly  spent  in  the  discharge 
of  judicial  duty  in  the  administration  of  the  great 
principles  of  the  law,  which  had  first  stirred  the 
powers  of  his  remarkable  mind,  and  aroused  that 
ambition  for  excellence  which  gave  to  his  state  and 
country  one  of  their  greatest  orators,  statesmen, 
and  generals. 

History  has  not  done  justice  to  John  Sullivan. 
"New  Hampshire  has  been  too  negligent  of  his 
fame.  She  has  always  been  more  concerned  to 
make  history  than  to  write  it.  Scores  of  names 
which  deserve  immortality  have  been  completely 
lost  or  linger  only  as  a  vanishing  echo  on  her  hills. 

She  has  the  materials  for  historic  romance  formed 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  83 

upon  the  unvarnished  truth  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  of  hardship,  heroism,  daring,  endurance, 
and  gallantry,  unsurpassed,  save  only  in  years,  by 
those  which  gild  the  stories  of  Scotland  and 
Switzerland,  or  even  the  mythological  splendors  of 
Greece  and  Rome. 

But  we  have  wasted  our  treasures  because  they 
were  so  common  that  we  did  not  realize  their  value, 
while  other  states  have  exploited  theirs  and  more 
wisely  have  preserved  them  for  the  emulation  and 
honors  of  posterity. 

This  monument  to  John  Sullivan  is  a  tardy,  and, 
although  a  beautiful,  yet  an  inadequate  tribute  to 
his  life  and  character. 

There  is  no  place  more  appropriate  than  the 
grave  where  his  ashes  repose  among  the  remains 
of  those  whom  he  loved  and  amid  the  everlasting 
outlines  of  nature  with  which  he  was  familiar  to 
commemorate  his  fame,  but  it  would  well  comport 
with  the  duty  of  the  state  and  of  the  nation,  to 
both  of  whom  he  gave  the  best  services  of  one  of 
their  greatest  sons,  if  at  their  capitals,  with  no 
longer  delay,  they  should  erect  suitable  monuments 
to  his  memory,  to  which  posterity  might  turn  from 
every  part  of  the  whole  state  and  of  the  whole 
nation  to  imbibe  the  highest  lessons  of  patriotism 
from  one  who  ever  taught  them  by  his  own  high 
example,  and  learn  to  speak  with  honor  and  rever- 
ence the  illustrious  name  of  General  John  Sulli- 
van. 


84  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

ADDRESS    OF   HON.  HENRY   M.  BAKER. 

MR.  PRESIDENT  :  It  has  been  said  that  the  mem- 
ory of  a  well-spent  life  is  immortal.  I  should  pre- 
fer to  say  that  the  influence  of  such  a  life  never 
dies.  Measured  by  either  statement,  an  infinitude 
of  earthly  remembrance  and  gratitude  remains  for 
General  Sullivan. 

Descended  from  the  best  of  heroic  Irish  stock, 
he  inherited  patriotism,  valor,  and  a  love  of  learn- 
ing. His  father,  a  teacher  by  profession,  gave  him 
a  fair  education,  instilled  into  his  young  mind  good 
moral  principles,  and  encouraged  his  natural  love 
of  liberty  and  justice. 

Upon  leaving  home  he  was  fortunate  in  becom- 
ing a  member  of  the  family  of  Mr.  Livermore,  of 
Portsmouth,  with  whom  he  studied  law.  His  early 
professional  career  was  marked  by  an  industry  and 
brilliancy  which  assured  his  later  triumphs  at  the 
bar  and  the  dignity  and  learning  with  which  he 
honored  the  bench. 

The  blood  of  his  ancestor,  Dermod,  chief  of 
Beare  and  Bantry,  incited  him  to  military  service. 
As  early  as  1772  he  was  major  of  a  New  Hamp- 
shire regiment.  In  1774  a  member  of  the  Provin- 
cial Assembly,  and  later  in  that  year  and  in  1775 
a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress.  Return- 
ing from  his  first  session  with  the  belief  that  a  re- 
sort to  arms  against  the  oppression  of  England  was 
inevitable,  he  organized  and  led  the  little  party 
which  captured  the  powder  and  arms  in  Fort 
"William  and  Mary,  part  of  which  was  used  at  Bun- 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  85 

ker  Hill.  Had  all  of  that  ammunition  been  avail- 
able, our  troops  would  have  won  a  glorious  victory 
upon  that  immortal  field.  In  1775,  he  was  elected 
a  brigadier-general  by  Congress,  and  at  once  left 
the  halls  of  consultation  and  legislation  for  the 
sterner  duties  of  active  military  life.  The  next 
year  he  was  promoted  to  major-general,  and  three 
years  later  retired  from  the  army,  having  tendered 
his  resignation  in  consequence  of  failing  health  and 
some  congressional  criticisms  of  his  military  career, 
resulting  principally  from  his  criticism  of  Congress 
in  official  reports  and  otherwise. 

The  orator  of  this  occasion  has  nobly  spoken  of 
General  Sullivan's  services  during  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  and  I  will  not  trespass  upon  your  patience 
even  for  a  brief  review  of  his  most  distinguished 
martial  achievements.  That  he  was  by  nature  a 
military  leader  is  unquestionably  true.  That  he 
won  no  great  victories  was  an  incident  of  the  times; 
but  in  the  fight  at  Trenton,  and  in  the  campaigns 
in  Rhode  Island,  and  in  chief  command  against  the 
Six  !N  ations,  he  showed  marked  military  genius  and 
strategic  ability. 

That  General  Sullivan  was  no  more  severe  toward 
the  Indians  than  the  occasion  and  circumstances 
demanded,  is  undoubtedly  true,  as  Washington  had 
instructed  him  to  devastate  their  settlements  and 
capture  those  of  every  age  and  sex. 

An  historian  of  the  expedition  against  the  Six 
Nations  has  said, — "  The  boldness  of  its  conception 
was  only  equaled  by  the  bravery  and  determina- 
tion with  which  its  hardship  and  danger  were  met 

7 


86  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

and  its  objects  accomplished.  ....  The  daring 
and  intrepid  march  has  been  not  inaptly  compared 
to  the  famous  expedition  of  Cortez  to  the  ancient 
halls  of  the  Montezumas,  or  that  later  brilliant 
achievement,  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea.  .  .  . 
The  battle  of  Newtown  may  justly  be  considered 
one  of  the  most  important  engagements  of  the  Rev- 
olutionary War,  and  as  worthy  of  commemoration 
as  Bunker  Hill  or  Monmouth,  Brandywine  or 
Princeton."  The  historian  may  be  a  little  enthusi- 
astic; but  that  General  Sullivan  accomplished  with 
great  success  and  slight  loss  a  difficult  military  task, 
no  one  will  deny.  Did  his  fame  as  a  leader  rest 
upon  this  campaign  alone,  were  his  other  services 
unrecorded,  it  would  be  secure  wherever  the  science 
of  war  is  known  and  courage  and  intrepidity  hon- 
ored. 

"When  he  laid  aside  his  sword,  a  grateful  people, 
remembering  his  civic  ability,  continued  him  in  the 
service  of  the  state.  They  returned  him  to  Con- 
gress, made  him  attorney-general,  president,  as 
our  governors  were  then  designated,  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  president  of  the  con- 
vention which  ratified  the  Federal  Constitution, 
then  a  presidential  elector,  enabling  him  to  vote 
for  his  old  commander  and  personal  friend,  Gen- 
eral Washington.  He  was  again  elected  president 
of  New  Hampshire,  and  the  same  year  was  ap- 
pointed by  Washington  district  judge  for  our  state, 
an  office  which  he  worthily  filled  until  his  death. 

Seldom  is  it  the  good  fortune  of  any  one  to  serve 
his  country  in  such  diverse,  yet  responsible  posi- 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  87 

tions  as  General  Sullivan  held  and  honored.  Still 
more  rare  to  discharge  every  duty  with  so  great 
energy  and  ability. 

That  he  was  generous  is  attested  by  the  fact  that 
he  spent  a  considerable  private  fortune  in  defense 
of  his  country ;  that  he  had  great  and  varied  abili- 
ties is  shown  by  his  private  and  public  career;  that 
he  was  an  honest  public  servant  and  faithful  in  the 
details  of  life  is  proved  by  the  esteem  in  which  he 
was  held  by  his  fellow-men. 

To  say  he  was  mortal  is  to  admit  that  he  had 
faults.  To  point  to  his  life  is  to  show  how  few  they 
were  and  how  well  he  bore  himself  in  prosperity 
and  adversity,  his  evident  good  will  and  honest 
purpose  appealing  to  our  hearts  for  the  approval 
which  he  earned. 

The  state  of  New  Hampshire  does  well  to  com- 
memorate the  brilliant  services  of  her  loyal  son,  who 
in  war  and  peace  added  lustre  to  her  name. 

REMARKS   BY    GOVERNOR    SMYTH. 

MR.  PRESIDENT  :  New  Hampshire  honors  her- 
self in  honoring  John  Sullivan.  In  erecting  this 
monument  the  state  does  more  than  simply  recog- 
nize the  virtues  of  this  patriot,  this  loyal  citizen, 
this  large-hearted  man,  this  heroic  soldier.  For  it 
holds  before  men  the  fact  that  though  years  may 
pass  without  adequate  acknowledgment  of  public 
services  and  private  virtue,  still  sooner  or  later  the 
honor  that  is  due  will  be  given.  New  Hampshire 
will  not  suffer  the  name  and  the  deeds  of  her  sons 
to  be  forgotten,  but  will  write  them  in  enduring 


88  DEDICATION   OF  THE 

granite,  and  hold  the  legacy  of  their  nobility  her 
most  priceless  possession. 

The  state  has  no  duty  more  imperative  than  that 
of  preserving  the  records  which  tell  the  story  of 
those  who  have  made  New  Hampshire  what  it  is. 
In  my  own  official  life,  there  were  few  things 
which  I  consider  of  more  importance  than  the 
beginning  of  that  movement  which  has  resulted  in 
the  continued  publication  of  the  "Provincial  and 
State  Papers."  The  present  and  the  future  histo- 
rians of  the  state  must  find  in  these  papers  the  chief 
material  for  their  work  ;  and  the  appointment  of 
Dr.  Nathaniel  Bouton  as  state  historian,  during  my 
second  term  as  governor  of  the  state,  marks  the 
earliest  movement  towards  the  preservation  and 
publication  of  these  papers. 

When  I  think  of  the  many  associations  con- 
nected with  this  place,  now  dignified  by  this  monu- 
ment to  Gen.  John  Sullivan,  I  am  impressed  by  the 
fact  that  the  history  of  the  state  demands  that  the 
early  features  of  New  Hampshire's  life  shall  have 
more  complete  rehearsal.  Perhaps  there  is  no  man 
living  so  well  fitted  to  record  the  story  of  the  early 
struggles  in  this  part  of  the  state  as  is  Dr.  Quint. 
The  exhaustive  researches  he  has  made  should  not 
be  lost.  At  whatever  expense,  if  not  by  public 
appropriation  then  by  private  subscription,  in  which 
I  shall  be  glad  to  bear  some  share,  his  work  should 
be  carried  on,  and  the  results  published.  For  the 
sake  of  those  who  are  to  come,  we  cannot  afford  to 
forget  the  services  of  those  who  have  gone  before. 
Nothing  we  can  leave  our  children  can  be  worth 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  89 

more  than  the  story  of  what  their  fathers  have  suf- 
fered and  have  accomplished. 

Mr.  President,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  me  to  be  here, 
to  listen  to  the  eloquent  addresses  from  this  plat- 
form, and  to  unite  with  these  representative  men  in 
doing  honor  to  this  hero  of  the  trying  hour  of  our 
nation's  birth.  He  being  dead,  yet  speaketh.  His 
life  is  a  perpetual  force,  not  only  in  our  American 
Union,  but  throughout  the  world.  For  the  sphere 
of  the  influence  of  the  noble  man,  the  knight  of 
freedom  and  independence,  cannot  be  limited. 
Wherever  the  rights  of  man  are  recognized,  and 
so  long  as  government  by  the  people  shall  endure, 
the  name  of  John  Sullivan  must  be  as  one  of  the 
imperishable,  of  those  "who  are  not  born  to  die." 

ADDRESS   OF   HON.    JOHN   C.   LINEHAtf. 

MB.  CHAIRMAN  :  Although  appreciating  the 
honor  of  being  called  upon  to  speak  on  this  occa- 
sion, and  in  the  presence  of  such  a  distinguished 
audience,  still,  were  I  to  consult  my  own  inclina- 
tions as  well  as  the  comfort  of  my  hearers,  I  should 
much  prefer  to  remain  a  listener.  However,  I 
have  made  it  a  rule  through  life  to  try  to  respond 
to  any  call  made  upon  me,  and  I  will  not  make  this 
an  exception.  I  can  truthfully  say  that  thus  far, 
this  has  been  for  me  one  of  the  pleasantest  gather- 
ings I  have  ever  attended.  Like  John  Sullivan,  I 
am  of  Irish  origin,  but  unlike  him,  of  Irish  birth, 
and  the  tributes  so  eloquently  and  so  ungrudgingly 
paid  him  by  the  speaker  of  the  day,  by  Senator 
Chandler,  and  by  our  good  governor,  are  appre- 


90  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

ciated  by  none  more  than  by  myself.  For  though 
here  nearly  half  a  century,  I  have  never  forgotten, 
and  never  shall  forget,  the  land  of  my  ancestors,  a 
land  that  for  over  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  has 
been  closely  connected  with  the  best  interests  of 
this  country,  and  from  which  came  thousands  who 
did  their  full  part  in  the  establishment  and  mainte- 
nance of  our  government.  I  am  also  interested  from 
the  fact  that  I  was  born  almost  within  the  shadow 
of  the  walls  of  a  castle  built  by  one  of  Sullivan's 
ancestors,  and  as  a  child  had  heard  around  the  fire- 
side the  traditions  of  his  family,  which  was  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  in  the  south  of  Ireland 
long  before  the  Normans  came  to  England  under 
William  the  Conqueror. 

A  few  years  ago,  it  was  my  privilege  to  be  pres- 
ent at  a  meeting  of  a  well-known  historical  associa- 
tion where  one  of  the  speakers  expressed  in  strong 
language  his  resentment  at  the  treatment  of  New 
Hampshire  in  the  average  description  of  the  Battle 
of  Bunker  Hill,  all  the  glory  as  a  rule  being 
given  to  Massachusetts  when  New  Hampshire  fur- 
nished the  greater  part  of  the  men  who  fought 
there.  Now  those  who,  like  myself,  are  of  Irish 
birth  or  parentage,  and  who  are  interested  in  the 
good  name  of  their  mother-land,  have  the  same 
fault  to  find  with  the  average  gathering  of  this 
character  (to  which,  however,  this  is  a  marked 
exception),  for  although  natives  of  Ireland  and 
their  sons  "have  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  his- 
tory of  New  Hampshire  from  the  days  of  Darby 
Field,  "  The  Irish  Soldier  for  Discovery,"  who 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  91 

was  sent  here  by  Capt.  John  Mason  in  1631, 
down  to  the  time  that  John  Sullivan  led  the  attack 
on  the  fort  at  Newcastle,  they  have  all  been  cred- 
ited, not  to  Ireland,  but  to  Scotland,  by  a  class 
of  writers  who  totally  ignore  the  origin  of  the 
people  of  both  countries. 

"  By  Mac  and  O'  you'll  always  know 

True  Irishmen,  they  say ; 
But  if  they  lack  the  O'  or  Mac, 
No  Irishmen  are  they." 

Our  New  Hampshire  McNeils,  McDufees,  Mc- 
Murphys,  and  McKeans  were  not,  so  far  as  blood 
was  concerned,  strangers  to  the  O'Neils,  O'Duffys, 
O'Murphys,  and  O'Kanes,  and  the  same  can  be 
said  of  others  bearing  different  names.  Let  that 
be  as  it  may,  however,  this  is  the  first  meeting 
called  to  celebrate  an  event  connected  with  the 
record  of  a  New  Hampshire  man  of  Irish  parent- 
age, that  the  individual  whose  memory  is  thus 
honored  was  not  styled  a  "  Scotch-Irishman." 

John  Sullivan  sprang  from  a  race  of  soldiers. 
His  grandfather  was  an  officer  in  the  garrison  of 
Limerick,  dying  later  in  the  French  service,  and 
his  father  was  born  in  that  city  during  its  siege 
by  William  III.  Many  of  his  relatives  bearing  the 
same  name  distinguished  themselves  in  the  armies 
of  France,  of  Spain,  and  of  Austria.  In  his  veins 
flowed  the  blood  of  the  Norman  Butlers  and  Fitz- 
geralds,  who  had  become,  in  time, "  more  Irish  than 
the  Irish  themselves."  His  brother  James  was 
governor  of  Massachusetts,  attorney-general  of  the 


92  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

commonwealth,  and  historian  of  Maine.  His  brother 
Daniel  led  one  hundred  men  to  Bunker  Hill  and 
lost  his  life  in  the  cause  to  which  John  had  de- 
voted his  health  and  fortune,  and  his  brother  Eben 
served  in  the  Continental  Army  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  the  struggle. 

It  seems,  therefore,  like  retributive  justice  to 
find  the  grandson  of  the  Limerick  soldier  paying, 
with  interest,  his  grandfather's  debt  to  the  govern- 
ment that  had  driven  his  father  into  exile,  for  on 
the  authority  of  one  of  the  king's  provincial  coun- 
cillors, whose  words  have  been  quoted  by  the  speaker 
of  the  day,  he,  John  Sullivan,  was  the  first  man  to 
commit  an  overt  act  against  the  government,  for 
which  his  property  was  threatened  with  confisca- 
tion, and  himself  with  death.  So  much  for  his 
origin,  and  I  crave  your  indulgence  for  dwelling 
upon  it,  but  if  New  Hampshire  resents  the  attempt 
of  Massachusetts  to  appropriate  to  herself  the 
greater  part  of  the  glory  of  Bunker  Hill,  surely 
you  will  pardon  me  for  trying  to  retain  for  Ireland 
credit  due  the  birthplace  of  the  father  of  John 
Sullivan. 

Leaving  his  origin  out  of  the  question,  however, 
a  better  American,  a  more  capable,  a  more  useful, 
or  a  more  fearless  man  than  John  Sullivan  our  state 
never  possessed.  All  his  thoughts,  his  impulses, 
and  his  actions  from  the  time  he  grew  to  manhood 
down  to  the  hour  of  his  death  were  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  land  that  gave  him  birth.  The  out- 
break of  the  Revolution  found  him  in  health  and 
prosperous,  as  such  things  were  measured  in  those 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  93 

days.     Its  close  left  him  broken  in  health  and  de- 
pleted in  purse. 

This  monument  will  ever  be  a  reminder  to  the 
people  of  Durham,  and  to  the  strangers  who  pass 
it  by,  of  a  man  whose  sole  thought,  and  whose 
every  action,  was  to  aid  in  the  establishment  on 
this  continent  of  a  government  of  the  people;  for, 
as  he  said  in  his  letter  to  Meshech  Weare  in  July, 
1775,  "All  governments  are,  or  ought  to  be,  insti- 
tuted for  the  good  of  the  people;  and  that  form  of 
government  is  the  most  perfect  when  that  design  is 
most  nearly  and  effectually  answered." 

In  accordance  with  the  plan  outlined  by  him  in 
this  letter,  the  state  government  of  New  Hamp- 
shire was  instituted,  and  nearly  a  century  later  the 
principles  thus  enunciated  by  him  were  expressed 
by  Abraham  Lincoln  on  the  Gettysburg  battle-field, 
in  the  immortal  address  wherein  he  spoke  of  "  a 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the 
people." 

But  his  most  enduring  monument,  and  one  that 
the  ravages  of  time  can  neither  efface  nor  destroy, 
will  be  found  in  the  record  of  his  deeds  as  a  patriot, 
a  statesman,  and  a  soldier  in  the  provincial,  revolu- 
tionary, and  state  papers  of  New  Hampshire.  No 
man  of  that  period  occupies  more  space  therein,  and 
his  correspondence,  which  seems  endless,  is  evi- 
dence of  his  ability,  his  zeal,  his  love  for  his  native 
state,  and  his  tireless  labor  in  behalf  of  liberty. 

What  a  record  of  the  man  these  papers  contain! 
In  1766,  a  young  unknown  lawyer  in  the  town  of 
Durham;  in  1774,  a  major  in  the  colonial  militia; 


94  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

in  May  of  the  same  year,  a  delegate  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress ;  in  December  following,  the  leader 
of  the  party  that  captured  the  powder  at  New- 
castle ;  a  brigadier-general  in  1775;  a  major-gen- 
eral a  year  later,  distinguished  for  gallantry  at 
Germantown  and  Brandy  wine;  in  command  at 
Khode  Island  in  1778,  and  in  1779  leading  the 
expedition  against  the  Six  Nations,  which  resulted 
in  the  overthrow  of  the  most  complete  organization 
of  Indians  ever  effected  on  this  continent.  The 
thanks  of  the  immortal  Washington  and  of  the 
Continental  Congress,  as  expressed  in  general  orders 
and  appropriate  resolutions,  are  the  best  evidence 
of  the  character  of  his  services  in  the  campaign,  for 
after  this  event  there  were  no  repetitions  of  the 
massacre  of  Wyoming  and  Cherry  Valley.  Four 
monuments  erected  by  the  grateful  people  of  the 
Empire  State  mark  the  route  traversed  by  his  vic- 
torious troops,  and  a  county  named  in  his  honor 
evinces  the  love  and  respect  in  which  the  memory  of 
John  Sullivan  is  held  by  the  citizens  of  New  York. 
His  military  career  ends  here.  He  returns  to  his 
home  with  ruined  health  and  exhausted  resources, 
but  even  in  that  condition  he  responded  to  the  calls 
made  upon  him  by  the  people  of  New  Hampshire, 
who  had,  from  the  time  the  struggle  began,  placed 
the  most  implicit  confidence  in  his  counsels.  In 
November,  1775,  when  the  Connecticut  troops  re- 
fused to  serve  beyond  their  term  of  enlistment,  in 
response  to  his  appeal,  thirty-one  companies  of 
sixty-four  men  each  were  recruited  and  sent  from 
New  Hampshire.  In  response  to  the  request  of  the 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  95 

people  of  New  Hampshire,  Sullivan  was  sent  by 
Washington  to  Portsmouth  to  superintend  the  con- 
struction of  harbor  defenses  against  a  supposed 
naval  attack  of  the  enemy. 

In  1777  Massachusetts  was  asked  to  co-operate 
with  New  Hampshire  in  an  appeal  to  Washington 
to  have  him  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
Northern  army,  and  in  November  of  the  same  year 
he  received  the  thanks  of  the  general  court  for  his 
conduct  in  Rhode  Island,  all  of  which  is  proof  of 
the  love  and  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  in  New 
Hampshire.  On  his  return  from  the  army,  the 
New  Hampshire  council  and  assembly  voted  an 
address  congratulating  him  on  his  safe  return. 

The  necessities  of  the  times  demanding  his  aid, 
he  was  directed  in  March,  1780,  to  draft  a  bill  to 
regulate  the  militia.  In  June,  1781,  he  was  elected 
to  represent  his  state  in  the  national  Congress,  and 
in  January,  1782,  he  was  chosen  commander  of  the 
forces  in  the  western  part  of  the  state.  The  same 
month  and  year  he  was  appointed  attorney-general 
of  the  state.  In  1788  he  was  president  of  the  state 
convention,  which  adopted  the  Federal  constitution. 
Later,  he  was  president  of  the  state  senate,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  executive  council,  a  presidential  elector, 
and  for  three  years  was  president  of  the  state,  the 
official  title  of  the  governor  at  that  time.  He  was 
appointed  judge  of  the  district  court  of  New  Hamp- 
shire by  his  old  commander,  Washington,  whose 
confidence  and  esteem  he  had  always  retained,  and 
while  holding  this  position  died,  on  the  23d  of  Jan- 
uary, 1795,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four. 


96  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

The  trust  reposed  in  him  by  the  immortal  leader 
of  the  Continental  Army,  and  by  the  people  of  his 
native  state,  was  shared  by  his  military  associates 
in  the  great  contest,  for  on  the  formation  of  the 
Order  of  the  Cincinnati  he  was  chosen  by  his 
fellow-officers  the  commander  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire branch  of  the  association. 

From  1774  to  1795,  twenty-one  years,  his  whole 
time  had  been  devoted  to  the  best  interests  of  his 
state  and  country.  His  active  career  began  when 
he  was  thirty-three  years  of  age;  it  ended  on  his 
death-bed  at  fifty-four.  This  record  is  his  best 
monument,  and  it  will  exist  as  long  as  the  granite 
hills  of  the  state  he  loved,  for  in  its  interests  he 
sacrificed  fortune  and  health,  and  realizing  this  fact, 
Matthew  Patten,  for  the  Committee  of  Safety,  wrote 
him  during  the  war,  "  That  the  Almighty  may 
direct  your  counsels,  be  with  you  in  the  day  of 
battle,  and  that  you  may  be  preserved  as  a  pattern 
to  this  people  for  many  years  to  come,  is  our  fer- 
vent prayer."  And  with  this  epitaph  for  the  mon- 
ument, the  fervent  sentiments  of  a  Christian  patriot, 
for  such  was  Matthew  Patten,  I  lay  my  tribute  on 
the  grave  of  John  Sullivan. 

ADDRESS    OF   PATRICK   H.    SULLIVAN. 

As  by  the  stroke  of  a  magician's  wand,  the 
present  and  all  that  pertains  to  it  have  this  day  been 
put  away  from  sight  and  mind,  and  the  citizens  of 
the  greatest  republic  that  the  world  has  seen,  revel 
in  the  past,  which  is  their  grandest  heritage.  As  in 
a  dream  we  move  to-day,  spirits  of  another  time 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  97 

than  this.  Again  the  country  stretches  about  us,  an 
almost  unbroken  wilderness ;  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia are  no  longer  within  speaking  distance,  and 
Europe  lies  a  fabulous  way  beyond  infinite  leagues 
of  the  tossing  sea.  The  men  who  surround  us  are 
of  a  nobler,  more  heroic  type;  molded,  it  would 
seem,  upon  another  plan;  unlike  the  men  of  to-day 
in  customs  and  temperament.  These  men  are  the 
progenitors  of  the  new  nation,  the  unconscious 
founders  of  the  greatest  race  old  mother  earth  has 
ever  borne.  There  is  stern  work  to  be  done  here  in 
the  new  world,  and  nature  and  the  elements,  the 
reluctant  soil  and  savage  neighbors  have  conspired 
to  prepare  for  the  task  men  who  will  not  shrink, 
who  will  not  flinch.  Human  liberty,  overpowered 
in  the  old  world,  has  made  her  way  across  the 
trackless  ocean  to  fight  the  last  fight.  Here  and 
now,  on  new  ground,  among  the  sturdy  colonists, 
she  takes  a  last  stand,  knowing  that  defeat  here 
means  defeat  forever.  How  well  she  chose  her 
time  and  place  you  all  know,  and  it  is  for  me  to 
offer  only  a  very  brief  tribute  to  the  man  who 
helped  to  accomplish  this  great  work,  and  to  the 
state  which  gave  him  for  its  accomplishment. 

Time,  like  Death,  is  a  great  leveler.  It  destroys 
in  its  onward  course  memories  dear  and  seemingly 
perpetual.  But  the  roll  of  the  years  that  have 
passed  since  first  the  white  man  trod  the  Western 
continent  is  not  wholly  a  dry  enumeration  of  men 
who  have  been  born  and  who  have  died  and  whose 
total  history  upon  earth  is  to  be  summed  up  in  these 
few  trite  words.  ISTor  have  all  the  events,  the  hap- 


98  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

penings  of  that  long  period,  the  same  empty 
epitaph.  To  be  sure,  thousands  of  men  have  lived 
upon  this  coast  whose  pulses  stirred  and  whose 
brains  throbbed  with  pure  and  lofty  purposes,  that 
we  may  never  know.  Their  brief  course  was  run, 
the  grave  closed  over  them,  oblivion  has  claimed 
them,  and  the  children  of  their  children  know  them 

not. 

"  No  soul  shall  tell,  nor  lips  shall  number 
The  names  and  tribes  of  you  that  slumber, 
No  memory,  no  memorial." 

But  there  are  men  whose  careers  have  defied  the 
grim  shadows  that  gather  at  each  man's  tomb  to 
enshroud  and  obliterate  every  memory  that  might 
endear  him  to  the  future,  men  who  have  traced  their 
lives  upon  the  book  of  time  in  characters  so  lumi- 
nous they  shine  and  glow  to-day,  and  will  forever. 

Such  a  man  was  General  John  Sullivan.  How 
much  do  we  not  owe  to  the  daring  of  his  genius 
and  the  steadfastness  of  the  purpose  which  upbore 
him  through  the  trials  and  struggles  of  the  stormy 
time  in  which  he  lived?  The  men  of  "New  Hamp- 
shire in  the  days  of  Sullivan  are  a  fair  type  of  the 
American  colonist.  He  was  imbued  with  a  love  of 
God  and  a  filial  reverence  for  the  mother-land. 
England  or  Ireland,  as  the  case  might  be,  was  the 
loadstone  which  always  attracted  his  admiration 
and  devotion.  Not  lightly  could  he  sever  ties  so 
dear.  The  hardy  yeoman,  home  from  toil  in  the 
fields  or  amid  the  virgin  forests  which  surrounded 
his  humble  home,  went  back  in  fancy  to  the  good 
old  days  of  yore,  and  be  he  Irishman,  Englishman, 


SULLIVAN  MONTTMENT.  99 

or  Scotchman,  his  heart  was  bound  up  in  the  tight 
little  island  across  the  sea  that  held  the  ashes  of 
his  kindred.  Amid  such  men  and  such  surround- 
ings the  youth  of  Sullivan  was  passed.  The  people 
of  that  day  were  full  of  stern  purpose  and  animated 
with  the  hope  of  carving  out  in  the  western  world 
a  new  and  perhaps  greater  Britain  than  the  one  left 
behind.  But  they  were  not  blind,  nor  could  they 
be  deceived.  Passionately  devoted  as  they  were  to 
the  mother-land,  they  could  not  shut  their  eyes  to 
the  schemes  of  oppression  that  were  being  hatched 
against  them  in  Parliament,  and  it  is  to  their  eter- 
nal credit  that  after  the  first  candid  and  honest  pro- 
test they  made  no  effort  to  do  so.  They  remem- 
bered the  glories  of  the  days  that  were,  and  all  the 
tender  thoughts  that  the  word  "  home  "  summoned, 
but  they  could  not  forget  the  Stamp  Act,  the  Tea 
Tax,  and  the  Boston  Massacre.  A  soldiery  was 
quartered  upon  them,  troopers  who  every  day 
became  more  insolent,  and  already  bore  themselves 
as  conquerors  among  the  conquered.  The  spirit 
of  the  colonists,  who  had  suffered  the  severities  of 
the  Canadian  winter  in  the  French  and  Indian 
wars,  chafed  beneath  this  restraint.  They  had 
measured  their  valor  with  the  English  soldiers  on 
the  Plains  of  Abraham  and  before  the  batteries  of 
Louisburg,  and  they  knew  that  the  American 
troops,  rough  and  uncouth  though  they  might  be, 
had  nobly  borne  themselves  in  the  battle's  front. 
Not  thoughtlessly  could  they  enter  upon  a  struggle 
with  the  greater  power,  but  the  idea  of  submission 
to  petty  oppressions  already  begun,  and  more 


100  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

shameful  humiliations  in  store,  was  not  to  be  enter- 
tained for  a  moment.  They  began  to  gird  them- 
selves for  the  fray,  which  they  now  saw  must  soon 
be  at  hand. 

It  is  at  this  time  that  the  genius  of  Sullivan  dis- 
plays itself.     As  has  been  already  said,  his  race  had 
never   learned   to   bear   English   tyranny   meekly. 
None  saw  more  clearly  than  he  that  the  colonists, 
in  order  to  preserve  their  liberties,  nay,  even  their 
self-respect,  must  take  a  stand  against  the  home 
government   and   maintain   it   to   the    bitter    end. 
Having  come  to  this  conclusion,  it  was  not  in  his 
nature  to  sit  idly  by,  lest  perchance  events  might  be 
so  shaped  as  to  preclude  all  possibility  of  the  suc- 
cess of  the  cause  he  held  so  dear.     He  realized  that 
it  was  a  time   for   action,   that  the   theorist   and 
dreamer  must  be  sent  to  the  rear,  and  that  if  the 
colonists  would  be  in   any  way  prepared   for   the 
impending   conflict,  they  must  be  up    and   doing. 
From  this  train  of  reasoning  was  evolved  the  scheme 
for  the   capture   of  powder  at  Fort  William  and 
Mary.     Coolly  planned  and  daringly  executed,  that 
has  always  seemed  to  me  one  of  the  most  sign  fi- 
cant   episodes   of  the   Revolutionary   period.     To 
appreciate  it  fully  we  must  remember  that  it  took 
place  before  actual  hostilities  began,  when  as  yet 
it  was   generally  hoped   that  the  struggle  might 
be  averted.     The  punishment  that  awaited  failure 
or  detection  might  well  have  deterred  them  from 
such  an  awful  risk.     But  the  cannon's  mouth  is  not 
the   only   criterion   of  heroism.     It  is  easy  to  do 
deeds  of  surpassing  bravery  amid  the  din  and  smoke 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  101 

of  battle,  when  the  ear  is  pierced  with  the  call  of 
bugle,  the  heart  sustained  with  the  roll  of  drum, 
and  the  brain  frenzied  with  the  shouts  of  victory 
almost  assured.  The  Revolutionary  War  is  rich  in 
heroism  of  this  sort,  from  Lexington  to  Yorktown. 
But  I  find  Nathan  Hale,  the  patriot  spy,  standing 
pinioned  upon  the  scaffold,  about  to  suffer  an  igno- 
minious death,  a  grander  figure  than  Anthony 
Wayne  at  Stony  Point,  and  to  my  mind,  Sullivan 
and  his  companions,  gliding  down  the  silent  river 
amid  the  shadows  of  night,  to  pit  themselves  against 
the  English  garrison  at  Newcastle,  present  a  pic- 
ture which  for  patriotism  and  undaunted  heroism, 
matches  well  the  famous  crossing  of  the  Delaware. 
Such  is  the  man  whom  to-day  our  state  seeks  to 
honor,  and  in  so  doing  honors  herself  and  is  the 
more  endeared  to  her  loving  children.  New  Hamp- 
shire, she  of  the  granite  hills  and  sturdy  men,  to- 
day recalls  to  the  nation  the  debt  it  owes  for  the 
son  she  has  given  for  its  foundation  and  demon- 
strates anew  that  she  is  preeminently  a  standard  of 
the  American  state.  Here  the  perfection  of  the 
governmental  principles  of  all  the  ages  is  applied 
to  a  body  of  citizens  who  are  determined  that  free- 
dom and  equality  shall  cease  to  be  mere  words  and 
shall  stand  for  something  at  last.  Greece  arose 
like  Cytherea  from  the  sea,  dazzled  and  delighted 
her  uncouth  neighbors  for  a  while  and  then,  forget- 
ting the  fundamental  principles  upon  which  her  sta- 
bility and  glory  depended,  went  down  in  shame 
before  all  mankind.  Rome,  on  a  grander  scale, 
repeated  the  same  humiliating  and  shameful  spec- 

6 


102  DEDICATION   OF  THE 

tacle.  On  the  western  shores,  the  men  who  love 
man  are  once  more  striving  to  carry  out  the  idea  of 
universal  brotherhood,  and  the  corner-stone  of  their 
system  is  the  American  state,  which  received  its 
impetus  at  the  Continental  Congress  where  Sulli- 
van so  well  represented  his  native  state. 

After  all,  we  are  forced  to  admit  that  although 
our  task  to-day  is  a  labor  of  love,  it  is  in  some 
senses  an  unnecessary  one.  Sullivan  needs  no 
monument  to  perpetuate  his  memory.  That  will 
never  fade.  More  enduring  than  bronze,  more 
storm-defying  than  the  granite  of  his  native  hills, 
it  will  survive  to  animate  with  noble  purpose  gen- 
erations yet  unborn.  A  great  life  is  never  lived  in 
vain.  It  will  pulsate  through  ages  to  come,  to  in- 
spire American  youth  in  crises  now  unthought  of. 
Gen.  John  Sullivan  has  already  builded  a  monu- 
ment greater,  grander,  broader  than  any  reared  by 
mortal  hands.  It  is  called  the  American  nation. 
Its  governmental  influence  extends  from  the  Atlan- 
tic to  the  Pacific,  but  its  moral  influence  encircles 
the  globe.  In  the  humble  hamlet  of  the  European, 
on  the  plateaus  of  Asia,  yea,  amid  the  dense  for- 
ests of  Africa,  is  heard  the  whisper  of  the  land  of 
promise  across  the  sea,  where  law  and  justice  reign, 
and  where  liberty  never  sleeps.  She  is  the  asylum 
of  the  down-trodden  from  every  clime,  and  the  dust 
of  the  heroes  who  slumber  in  her  bosom,  of  "Wash- 
ington and  Sullivan,  and  Putnam  and  Stark,  is  a 
pledge  that  the  glad  promise  which  she  holds  out 
to  all  mankind  will  never  be  broken. 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  103 

ADDRESS   OF   COLONEL   DANIEL   HALL. 

MR.  PRESIDENT:  There  is  but  little  to  glean  in 
any  field  of  history  or  research  which  has  once 
been  traversed  by  our  distinguished  orator  of  the 
day.  In  undertaking  to  pass  over  such  a  field,  one 
is  reduced  to  the  same  necessities  as  General  Sheri- 
dan said  a  bird  would  be  in  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley— that  "  he  could  n't  fly  over  it,  after  his  army 
had  been  there,  without  carrying  his  rations." 

Especially  are  we  indebted  to  him  for  the  inter- 
est, and  zeal,  and  critical  acumen,  but  at  the  same 
time,  loving  and  reverential  spirit,  with  which  he 
has  studied,  and  written,  and  spoken  upon  the  early 
history  and  deeds  of  Southern  New  Hampshire. 
We  are  under  obligations  to  him  for  bringing  to 
light  much  of  the  history  of  the  dear  and  beautiful 
land  which  we  now  inhabit,  the  cradle  and  nursery 
of  American  liberty. 

If  it  were  in  accord  with  the  proprieties  of  the 
occasion,  I  should  be  tempted  to  dwell  upon  the 
circumstances,  which  must  be  regretted  by  all, 
which  have  stood  in  the  way  of  the  great  work  he 
might  have  given  us,  illustrative  of  the  early  his- 
tory of  New  Hampshire — which  would  have  de- 
lighted us  as  Scott  delighted  the  world  by  his 
"  Tales  of  the  Scottish  Border,"  and  sent  his  name 
down  to  all  future  generations  as  Scott  did  his,  not 
exactly  by  achievements  in  the  realm  of  romance, — 
I  do  n't  mean  that, — but  by  his  labors  in  the  clearer 
and  more  searching  light  of  historical  inquiry. 

The  story  of  General  Sullivan's  life  and  services 


104  DEDICATION   OF   THE 

has  been  graphically  told  to-day,  and  can  never  fail 
to  be  interesting  to  the  American  people.  His 
career  at  every  stage  was  striking  and  honorable. 
A  poor  boy,  son  of  an  Irish  immigrant,  he  rose  by 
his  unaided,  native  resources  to  a  high  position  at 
the  bar,  at  a  very  precocious  age.  He  was  among 
the  earliest  and  boldest  advocates  of  the  cause  of 
Independence,  and  put  his  principles  into  practice 
by  leading  in  the  first  overt  act  of  the  Revolution, 
forcibly  seizing  the  military  stores  of  England,  and 
using  them  in  armed  resistance  to  British  tyranny 
and  the  British  crown.  As  a  member  of  the  First 
Continental  Congress,  he  counseled  ever  and  un- 
waveringly a  policy  of  separation  from  the  mother 
country.  Without  preparatory  training,  and  with 
very  limited  means  of  martial  education,  he  was 
raised  at  once  to  high  military  rank,  and  as  a  gen- 
eral officer  under  Washington,  often  his  second  in 
command,  he  was  engaged  in  numerous  great  bat- 
tles, and  enjoyed  under  him  more  of  independent 
command  than  any  other  officer.  In  these  respon- 
sible situations,  he  always  acquitted  himself  with  a 
valor  and  courage  never  doubted,  and  inferior  to 
no  other  soldier.  He  sacrificed  his  personal  for- 
tune, and  all  his  opportunities  for  wealth  and  pre- 
ferment, in  the  service  of  his  country.  After  his 
military  service  ended,  as  a  member  of  Congress 
again  he  was  foremost  among  the  great  men  who 
negotiated  the  terms  of  peace  and  launched  the 
government  upon  its  magnificent  course.  Again 
in  New  Hampshire,  as  a  lawyer  and  attorney-gen- 
eral, he  commenced  that  forensic  career  as  a  bril- 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  105 

liant  advocate,  which  he  and  his  lineal  descendants 
carried  on  for  nearly  half  a  century.  As  his  crown- 
ing civic  honor,  he  was  made  president  of  the  colo- 
ny, elevated  to  the  highest  post  in  their  gift  by 
the  people  who  had  known  him  from  infancy,  who 
knew  his  honor,  and  ability,  and  services  to  the 
state  and  country.  Finally,  as  a  jurist,  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  highest  judicial  place  in  the  state,  as 
a  mark  of  the  special  confidence  and  partiality  of 
George  "Washington. 

In  all  the  phases  and  all  the  trusts  of  his  life,  it 
must  be  the  verdict  of  every  careful  and  discrimi- 
nating student  of  that  life  that  General  Sullivan 
was  a  man  of  commanding  talents,  a  writer  and 
orator  of  distinguished  ability,  a  soldier  without 
fear  and  without  reproach,  a  patriotic  man,  a  man 
of  honor  and  integrity,  and  courage  unimpeacha- 
ble. 

There  was  a  good  strain  of  blood  in  these  Sulli- 
vans, — the  younger  brother,  James,  attorney-gen- 
eral and  governor  of  Massachusetts,  being  fully  the 
general's  equal  as  a  lawyer,  orator,  writer,  and 
statesman, — and  it  coursed  down  hotly  through  the 
veins  of  several  generations.  There  was  the  warm, 
emotional  Irish  temperament,  which  has  been  asso- 
ciated with  genius  and  eloquence  the  world  over 
for  centuries.  The  tones  of  its  graceful  and  flowery 
speech  have  resounded  in  our  courts  of  law,  in  our 
legislative  halls,  and  on  our  platforms  to  this  day  ; 
and  the  same  temperament  is  full  of  the  dash  and 
intrepidity,  the  fiery  elan  which  has  enabled  the 
Irish  soldier  in  all  time  to  tread  the  battlefields  of 


106  DEDICATION   OF  THE 

Europe  and  America  with  the  pace  of  a  victor  and 
hero. 

If  General  Sullivan  met  with  defeat  in  most  of 
his  battles,  so  also  did  Washington  himself.  Let 
it  be  never  forgotten  that  independence  was  won 
not  by  fighting  so  much  as  by  the  Fabian  policy  of 
avoiding  fighting,  or  rather  by  the  Fabian  and 
fighting  policies  combined.  It  is  easy  to  account 
for  this  by  the  simple  truth  familiar  to  every  mili- 
tary man  and  every  student  of  history,  that  the  raw 
and  untried  levies  of  the  American  colonies, until  sea- 
soned by  discipline  and  battle,  could  not  be  success- 
fully pitted  against  the  veteran  legions  of  Europe. 

But  despite  a  complete  consensus  of  opinion  as 
to  General  Sullivan's  courage,  patriotism,  and  intel- 
lectual superiority,  he  has  been  the  object  of  grave 
and  weighty  personal  attack.  Our  great  American 
historian,  Bancroft,  usually  so  just  and  discriminat- 
ing, seems  to  have  entertained  a  special  hostility  to 
him.  Nowhere  does  he  praise  him,  but  finds  every 
possible  occasion  to  criticise  and  disparage  him. 
He  blames  him  for  every  mishap  of  the  army  when 
he  is  near  it,  and  not  content  with  innuendoes  and 
other  evidences  of  his  prejudices  scattered  every- 
where throughout  his  great  work,  he  "  thunders  in 
the  index  "  in  the  most  terrific  way,  the  text  referred 
to  not  seldom  failing  to  support  the  overdrawn 
language  of  the  table  of  contents.  In  only  one 
place  do  I  remember  that  Bancroft  says  a  word  in 
his  praise,  but  a  tribute  to  his  personal  courage  is 
extorted  from  him  by  Sullivan's  splendid  intrepidity 
at  the  Battle  of  the  Brandywine. 


SULLIVAN  MONUMENT.  107 

These  charges  have  been  formally  met  and  re- 
futed by  the  historical  societies  of  Massachusetts 
and  ~New  Hampshire,  by  Amory  in  his  "  Life  of 
Sullivan,"  and  to-day  most  triumphantly,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  by  the  masterly  address  to  which  we 
have  listened ;  so  that  General  Sullivan's  fame 
would  seem  to  be  safe  from  further  aspersion. 
Indeed,  the  defense  of  this  day  must  be  to  the 
author  a  grateful  service  to  the  memory  of  one  of 
the  earliest,  most  active,  devoted,  and  indomitable 
patriots  of  our  revolutionary  era — a  service  de- 
manded by  the  truth  of  history. 

It  is  the  tendency  of  the  critical  and  skeptical 
spirit  of  the  age  to  throw  down  our  historical 
idols  ;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  while  truth  is  always 
to  be  preferred  to  falsehood,  it  is  time  to  call  a  halt 
to  this  depreciatory  spirit,  this  disposition  to  ferret 
out  and  expose  with  exaggeration  the  inevitable 
flaws  in  great  public  characters.  It  cannot  be  that 
the  great  things  of  history  have  been  accomplished 
without  men  of  heroic  mold,  and  so  let  us  keep 
some  of  them  enthroned  in  our  reverence. 

Take  away,  O  historical  iconoclast !  if  you  will, 
old  u  Homer  and  the  tale  of  Troy  divine!  "  obliter- 
ate the  walls  of  Troy  and  the  miraculous  annals  of 
early  Rome!  blot  out  Romulus  and  Remus,  and  even 
Alexander  and  Napoleon,  and  the  other  blood-thirsty 
tyrants  and  conquerors  of  history  !  But  leave  us 
our  own  Washington,  and  leave  us  Greene,  and  La- 
fayette, and  Sullivan,  our  ideals  of  patriotism  and 
love  of  liberty,  who  enjoyed  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  Washington  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life. 


108         DEDICATION  OF  THE  SULLIVAN  MONUMENT. 

Twenty-five  years  ago,  the  biographer  of  Gen- 
eral Sullivan  said, — "  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  at  some 
future  day  the  state,  as  she  grows  in  prosperity, 
and  is  more  disposed  to  value  the  services  which 
established  her  independence  and  free  institutions, 
will  erect  in  her  capital  or  near  their  sepulchres, 
statues  or  monuments  to  the  memories  of  her  dis- 
tinguished Revolutionary  worthies." 

New  Hampshire  has  been  tardy  in  paying  this 
tribute  of  gratitude  to  her  illustrious  sons  ;  but 
within  a  few  years  past  she  has  made  a  good  begin- 
ning, and  "Weare,  and  Thornton,  and  Stark  are 
already  thus  honored.  To-day  she  comes  to  per- 
form this  office  of  duty  and  reverence  to  another 
of  her  worthies, — lawyer,  orator,  soldier,  patriot, 
chief  magistrate  of  the  state.  Here,  on  the  spot 
chosen  by  him  as  his  dwelling-place  on  earth,  and 
as  his  grave, — here,  in  the  old  town  of  his  adoption, 
she  raises  his  monument,  modestly  but  significantly, 
and  by  it  she  proclaims  her  judgment  that  John 
Sullivan  is  worthy  of  lasting  commemoration  as 
one  of  the  most  serviceable  of  the  men  it  was  her 
great  honor  to  contribute  to  the  cause  of  Ameri- 
can independence. 


uc  SOUTHERN  ' 


E 
,      207 


